The owner of New York magazine has confirmed the company is exploring strategic options in an internal email obtained by CNBC after a Wall Street Journal article said the company was exploring a potential sale.
In an email to employees, Pam Wasserstein, the CEO of New York Media, which owns New York magazine and several other websites, said her family "would be happy to continue owning" the business for years to come. She then alluded to growing the business through acquisition, though it was unclear if she was referencing buying or selling.
"Partnering to support acquisitions or other ways of growing might make sense. Or it might not," Wasserstein wrote.
New York magazine has increasingly covered national politics in addition to culture. Wasserstein was named CEO in 2016.
A spokesperson for New York Media gave the following statement to CNBC:
We are focused on building our business organically, but we also explore investment interest and strategic opportunities as a general practice (including the acquisition of Splitsider earlier in 2018). Given the growth New York Media has seen, it makes sense for us to evaluate the market for opportunities to continue to develop the business.
The full text of the Wasserstein's email is below:
Hi everyone,
The Wall Street Journal published an article today about the company. I wanted to expand a bit more on that for internal purposes. My family has owned this business since 2004. We very much believe in this exceptional institution; we are proud owners and would be happy to continue owning it for years to come. As we discussed at the Town Hall last month, we are investing into a number of growth initiatives for the company, taking advantage of the moment and the strength of the business we've built together.
We are ambitious for this place. It's fairly standard that everyone talks to everyone in media, but I've stepped up participation a bit this year in order to be opportunistic about what path we take to build (buying Splitsider earlier this year is an example of learning about market opportunities and taking advantage of it). Partnering to support acquisitions or other ways of growing might make sense. Or it might not. The point is that I'm trying to make our company the best version of itself, as I know all of you are.
Thanks,
Pam
