Comcast recently held acquisition talks with digital publisher Vox Media, Fortune has learned. The potential deal fizzled out within the last month.
One trouble spot? Comcast’s (CMCSA) proposed $45.2 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable (TWC). For the past year, Comcast has been wary of acquisitions while the Department of Justice scrutinized its mega-buyout for antitrust concerns, putting the tech giant on the M&A sidelines.
Now, however, it appears that Comcast is planning to withdraw its Time Warner Cable bid, making it well-positioned to go on an acquisition spree for smaller companies.
Washington, D.C.-based Vox has raised over $100 million in venture capital funding, including from Comcast Ventures. Other investors include Accel Partners, Allen & Company, General Atlantic, Khosla Ventures and Ted Leonsis. Its most recent round was a $46.5 million raise last fall at a reported valuation of $380 million.
The company was founded in 2003 as SportsBlogs, and later renamed itself after expanding into several other areas of editorial focus. Today, Vox has seven editorial brands. In general, Vox is known for pursuing a well-educated, wealthy “premium” audience rather than focusing on high-volume pageviews.
Comcast did not respond to a request for comment. Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff did not respond to a request for comment.
