Grimes, McGovern & Associates represents Quartz, Acquired by G/O Media

G/O Media Acquires Business News Publisher Quartz

April 28, 2022

Quartz is the first addition to the G/O Media stable of sites since the company was formed three
years ago. One of the marquee business brands among digitally native premium content
destinations, Quartz represents a new vertical in the G/O Media network.

New York, NY (April 28, 2022) — G/O Media announced today that it has entered into an
agreement to acquire Quartz (qz.com), the digitally native business news organization ranked
number one for readership among global executives between ages 25-45. The acquisition
brings together G/O Media’s portfolio of brands that include The A.V. Club, Deadspin, Gizmodo,
Jalopnik, Jezebel, Kotaku, Lifehacker, The Root, and The Onion with Quartz’s award-winning
journalism and global audience.

With a mission to make business better,™ Quartz specializes in business news and analysis for
purpose-driven professionals. Its global newsroom helps readers discover new industries, new
markets, and new ways of doing business that are the most sustainable, innovative, and
inclusive. Quartz’s offerings include the Quartz Daily Brief, its industry-leading morning
newsletter; the Quartz Obsession email and podcast; Quartz at Work, on the modern workplace;
and Quartz Africa and Quartz India, which focus on innovation in each region. Quartz has been
widely praised for its innovative journalism, product design, and advertising, and has won many
of journalism’s highest honors since launching in 2012, most recently picking up two of
SABEW’s Best in Business Awards earlier this month.

“Acquiring Quartz adds to our already unparalleled portfolio of sites that are beloved by readers
and embraced by advertisers,” said G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller. “The digital business news
space is an area ripe for investment and synergies with our other G/O Media sites. Quartz’s
commitment to quality and mission-driven journalism embodies the values espoused in all of our
brands, and I look forward to working with the talented Quartz team to grow the business to new
levels of success.”

Zach Seward, a co-founder and the current CEO of Quartz, will join G/O Media as general
manager and editor in chief of Quartz after the deal becomes official. Katherine Bell, Quartz’s
editor in chief since January 2020, will continue as an advisor to Quartz.

“Quartz’s progressive business journalism and our vital coverage of the global economy will now
reach even more people by joining the G/O Media network,” said Seward. “We’ll be able to
serve readers in new ways and continue to grow the advertising and membership revenue that
supports Quartz’s vital work. I am particularly proud that there are no layoffs connected to the
acquisition, nor planned once we integrate. This is a plan for long-term growth.”

Quartz will become part of G/O Media’s profitable portfolio of sites that lead in industry
engagement, audience, reach, and ad performance metrics. Numerous synergistic opportunities
with the young audiences of G/O Media’s other sites, analytics, and infrastructure improvements
will help grow Quartz’s traffic, memberships, and advertising revenue. This acquisition comes at
the three-year anniversary of the formation of G/O Media. Quartz was founded in 2012 under
Atlantic Media, which sold Quartz in 2018 to Uzabase, a publicly-traded Japanese media
company. Seward and Bell took Quartz private two years later in a management buyout.
Quartz was advised by James McDonald of Grimes McGovern & Associates.

About G/O Media
G/O Media reaches more than one in five of all Americans online each month with over 95
million unique visitors. This collection of digital-first brands serves a young, diverse audience
with content that reflects their shared values and passions, including category-leading sites
focused on tech and science (Gizmodo); pop culture and entertainment (The A.V. Club); sports
news (Deadspin); car culture (Jalopnik); modern women’s interests (Jezebel); gaming (Kotaku);
lifestyle (Lifehacker); food and drink (The Takeout); African American news and culture (The
Root); humor and satire news (The Onion); and e-commerce (The Inventory).

About Quartz
Quartz is a digitally native news organization with a mission to make business better. Our 50
journalists around the world specialize in the analysis of the global economy for an audience of
purpose-driven professionals. We help our readers discover new industries, new markets, and
new ways of doing business that is more sustainable, innovative, and inclusive. Quartz is the
top business publication for global executives ages 25-45, and we have been a pioneer in
premium, mobile-first, native advertising experiences since our founding in 2012.

G/O Media Contact:
Mark Neschis
[email protected]
Quartz Contact:
Renee Rossi
[email protected]