Vox Media Acquires Recode.net

Posted on May 26, 2015

Vox Media has acquired the Re/code tech news site. The site was founded by Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg. They are both joining Vox Media. Re/code will continue to publish news on recode.net.

The New York Times reports that this was an all-stock deal with terms undisclosed. The Times says Recode has "struggled to attract a large following despite a splashy introduction announcing prominent writers."

Kara Swisher told the Times, "Everybody is bigger than us. It's not a secret that being a smaller fish is really hard."

The deal will make Recode part of a large entity which could help it grow and give it access to more viewers. However, there could also be some content overlap with sites like The Verge being part of Vox. Some of the other media brands Vox owns include Cubed, Racked, SB Nation, Eater and Curbed.

Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher acknowledge the potential for overlap in a note about the deal. They write, "We plan as well to collaborate where appropriate with Vox Media’s current and very successful tech news site, The Verge. While the two sites occasionally overlap, we have focused on the business of tech, while The Verge has focused on covering tech from a lifestyle perspective."

The Times says Recode's 44 full-time employees and three contract employees are expected to join Vox.