Washington-based Vox Media has signed an agreement to acquire New York’s Group Nine Media, the owner of multi-platform media brands including The Dodo, NowThis, PopSugar, Thrillist and Seeker.

Acquiring Group Nine will give Vox access to popular kids IPs such as the science-centric Seeker brand, which launched its first podcasts for tweens last year; PopSugar, a pop-culture blog featuring content aimed at families; and The Dodo, which has 10.7 million subscribers on YouTube and has been pushing into kids content since it launched a children’s division in 2019. In the last three years, the animal-themed brand has rolled out a TV series called Izzy Bee’s Koala World (pictured) on Netflix, launched a range of books with Scholastic, and partnered with Sesame Workshop to produce Families for Furry Friends, which combines Sesame Street Muppets with feel-good stories about animals.

The deal will see Group Nine join editorial brands such as SB Nation, New York Magazine, The Verge, Vox, Eater, The Cut, Vulture, Polygon and The Strategist in Vox’s well-established stable, along with its expanding podcast and studios businesses.

Expected to finalize in early 2022, this merger will create one of the biggest media companies in the US, but it’s still subject to closing conditions and regulatory approval. Group Nine SPAC (Group Nine Acquisition Corp.), which is a separate entity, is not part of the agreement.

Group Nine founder and CEO Ben Lerer will join the Vox Media board and remain at the company to help drive strategic initiatives and advise on commercial and corporate development.

Vox Media will own 75% of the combined entity, with the remaining 25% controlled by Group Nine Media, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Copied from Realscreen. With files from Realscreen’s Barry Walsh and Kidscreen’s Ryan Tuchow.