Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy buys big into BuzzFeed, quickly demands change

Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is advocating for major changes at the financially struggling news website BuzzFeed.

“The company was a pioneer of the social internet when referral traffic from Facebook seemed endless. Legacy media companies and publishers believed BuzzFeed had the secret sauce, leading them to invest at sky-high valuations or mimic its strategy, or both,” Ramaswamy stated in a letter to the company’s board, which he posted on X (formerly Twitter).

“Now, the social-internet model is dying or dead, and BuzzFeed is caught without a viable strategy.”

Ramaswamy, a businessman from suburban Columbus and a Cincinnati-area native, mentioned in the letter that he is now the second-largest Class A shareholder with an 8.37% stake in the company and continues to increase his position.

He is calling for a company restructuring, staff reductions, and the addition of three board members he recommends. He offered to arrange meetings between these candidates and the company’s board and urged the board to act on the recommendations by July 15.

“Nearly every legacy media company has failed its audience,” he said on X. “The first one to openly admit it and make major changes should soar.”

Ramaswamy suggested BuzzFeed invest further in creator-led video and audio content, where it has a competitive edge.

“Make BuzzFeed a bold, distinctive brand,” he wrote.”Set yourself apart from competitors by openly acknowledging past journalistic mistakes and rebranding BuzzFeed to focus on the pursuit of truth.”

He urged the company to employ a staff representing all political viewpoints, noting only two donations to Republican candidates from staff out of 214 political contributions.

“Instead of following your competitors’ focus on racial and gender diversity in the boardroom, you have the opportunity to be the first media company to intentionally prioritize a diversity of viewpoints among your staff,” he said.

In response to Ramaswamy’s letter, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti acknowledged that the brand is undervalued but disagreed on the necessary steps for a turnaround.

“Your letter suggests some fundamental misunderstandings about what drives our business, the values of our audience, and the company’s mission,” he told Ramaswamy. “I have serious doubts about the business sense of turning BuzzFeed into a platform for controversial political commentators. Moreover, we will not apologize for our Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism.”

“Nonetheless, I welcome input from shareholders and am open to hearing more of your ideas. I would also appreciate the chance to further explain the strategy we have detailed in our recent earnings calls and why we believe it will maximize value.”

Ramaswamy, a wealthy biotech entrepreneur, has championed various conservative causes in recent years, including through his investment management firm, Strive Asset Management, which counters other management companies that he claims focus too much on issues like climate change and representation for women and minorities on corporate boards.

He has also authored books promoting conservative causes, such as “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam.”

Ramaswamy ended his presidential campaign after finishing fourth in the Iowa Republican Caucuses in January.

When BuzzFeed went public in December 2021, it was valued at $1.5 billion. The company’s shares have since plummeted, and today, BuzzFeed is worth just over $100 million, despite a recent increase in share value.

“Instead of making cuts from the top down, the company should rebuild from the ground up, keeping only the essential resources needed to produce and monetize BuzzFeed’s most valuable content,” Ramaswamy advised the company. “This will likely necessitate significant staff reductions, abandoning your outdated digitized print business model, and selling off assets to pay down debt. The outcome should be a much smaller, more focused, agile, less leveraged, and immediately profitable company. This transformation could be accomplished within 2-3 months.”