GigaOM Acquires paidContent

GigaOM, a technology media company, has acquired ContentNext Media, the parent company of paidContent, from Guardian News & Media, for an undisclosed sum.

With the purchase of ContentNext, GigaOM will acquire a collection of online publications, including paidContent, a site that tracks the online media industry, mocoNews.net and contentSutra.com. GigaOM’s acquisition comes as consolidation is increasing in the digital media industry. Over the last year, several technology and business news sites have been folded into larger media organizations. Last fall, AOL purchased TechCrunch, a GigaOM rival, for tens of millions of dollars. In December, SAY Media acquired ReadWriteWeb, another popular technology blog, for an undisclosed sum.

The Guardian, best known for its namesake British publication, acquired ContentNext in 2008 for 4 million pounds, according to a report by the Guardian, citing financials disclosed in 2010. But it has since cooled on its investment, turning instead to focus on building its Guardian brand in the United States. In November, the company announced it was putting ContentNext up for sale. With the acquisition, GigaOM will add 15 additional employees to its staff of 40, and expand its footprint in the New York and European markets. Like GigaOM, ContentNext also hosts conferences, which generate revenue through attendance and sponsors. The Guardian will retain a minority share in ContentNext and will hold an observer seat on the board. ContentNext’s network of sites attracts about 726,000 users and 1.5 million page views per month.

Founded in 2006 by journalist and technology investor Om Malik, GigaOM attracts about 4.5 million visitors per month. It has raised about $15 million from its venture capital investors, including Reed Elsevier Ventures, Alloy Ventures and True Ventures. But it has been fairly conservative with its balance sheet. ContentNext is the company’s largest acquisition to date, it previously acquired two small technology news sites in 2008.