It was because Jonah Peretti wouldn't sell to Disney — or, perhaps to anyone.
Business Insider reports:
Last June, talks between Disney and BuzzFeed began. A source says they were "substantive" and Disney threw out a high price for the media startup. But talks came to a halt in October, and they didn't dissolve over money. Instead, Peretti decided he didn't want to sell Buzzfeed.
"Jonah wants to run this company for the next 40 years," Lerer says, although he declined to comment on Disney specifically. "I imagine I can't find a price Jonah would sell at."
Steinberg, who had been committed to Buzzfeed for the past four years, felt differently. He wasn't sure he wanted to commit his life to someone else's company.
If I was a Buzzfeed employee — at least one without massive stock options — I'd be very happy about this report.
