BARRY DILLER EXPLORES SALE OF THE DAILY BEAST

Tech mogul Barry Diller was one of the first billionaires to experiment with digital journalism in the 2000s, teaming up with longtime editor Tina Brown to start The Daily Beast, a scrappy tabloid for the budding online era.

Now, Diller’s 14-year run as owner of the Internet muckraker may be coming to an end.

IAC, the holding company founded by Diller that owns digital properties including People, Better Homes and Gardens, and Southern Living, has hired the advisory firm Whisper Advisors to explore the sale of The Daily Beast, according to two people with knowledge of the decision.

The sale process is in the early stages, the people said, and it may not result in a deal. The price The Daily Beast might command in a sale is not clear.

An IAC spokesperson declined to comment.

The Daily Beast has had journalistic successes, churning out scoops on the media industry and political and national security issues over the years. Last year, it broke the news that Herschel Walker, the Republican nominee for Senate in Georgia, was the father of children he had not previously mentioned publicly.

But it hasn’t achieved the financial success of some of Diller’s other investments. The site has been a small part of his digital empire, operating independently of his other publishing brands, with its own CEO and management team.

Like other digital-media companies, The Daily Beast has turned to digital subscriptions to expand its business in recent years. The company charges $4.99 a month for unlimited access to its coverage, while offering an advertising-supported crossword puzzle five times a week. It also takes a cut of online sales for products that it recommends on Scouted, a section of the site dedicated to internet shopping.

It may be an inopportune time to explore a sale for Diller, whose record in digital media has included successful spinoffs of dating conglomerate Match Group, travel business Expedia and video service Vimeo. Media stocks have fallen sharply over the past year amid a broader market swoon, as skittish investors have grown wary of advertising and video-streaming businesses.

The Daily Beast’s aggressive reporting has also made it an occasional target of lawsuits, which could complicate a sale. In 2020, the former editorial director of Gawker sued The Daily Beast after the site published an article about Gawker’s tumultuous relaunch. The Daily Beast has said its article was accurate, and the lawsuit is still working its way through court.