Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate and biotech entrepreneur, has bought a minority stake in Buzzfeed, a digital publishing company that shut down its media outlet last year.
The company's stock soared more than 50% before the market opened Wednesday.
Mr. Ramaswamy acquired a 7.7% stake in BuzzFeed, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Tuesday.
Ramaswamy said in the filing that he believes BuzzFeed stock is undervalued. He wants to speak to the company's board and management.
BuzzFeed has struggled to shore up sales since going public in 2021. In late 2022, the company began cutting staff, citing a poor digital advertising environment, and then announced the closure of Pulitzer Prize-winning digital media outlet BuzzFeed early last year, according to News.
Parent company co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti said in a memo to employees at the time that in addition to the news department, there would be layoffs in business, content, technology and administrative departments.
Earlier this month, BuzzFeed reported first-quarter revenue of $44.8 million and a loss of $35.7 million, or 72 cents per share. The company expects its earnings situation to worsen, with advertising revenue down 22% and content revenue down 19%.
After finishing a distant fourth in the Iowa caucuses, Ramaswamy ended his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in January and endorsed former President Donald Trump.
Mr. Ramaswamy, the son of Indian immigrants, entered the highest levels of politics after earning hundreds of millions of dollars at the intersection of hedge funds and pharmaceutical research, graduating from Harvard University and then Yale Law School while I built and built a career.
Shares of New York City-based BuzzFeed rose 59 percent early Wednesday to about $4.
