Vivek Ramaswamy Boosts BuzzFeed Stock With Board Letter: What You Need To Know

BuzzFeed Inc BZFD shares are trading higher Tuesday after former 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy wrote a letter to BuzzFeed’s board and revealed an increased stake in the company.

What Happened: In a post on X on Tuesday, Ramaswamy unveiled a new letter to BuzzFeed’s board in which he argues that a “shakeup is required.” Ramaswamy also noted that he is now the second-largest Class A shareholder of BuzzFeed with an 8.37% stake in the company.

“Nearly every legacy media company has failed its audience. The first one to openly admit it & make major changes should soar,” Ramaswamy said in the post.

The news comes after an SEC filing from last week showed that Ramaswamy had acquired a 7.7% stake in BuzzFeed. The former presidential hopeful revealed this week that he has been buying shares of BuzzFeed since the end of January and noted that he plans to continue increasing his stake.

“I own your stock because I believe BuzzFeed can still become a more valuable company than at its initial listing, but this requires a major shift in strategy,” Ramaswamy said in his letter to the board.

On the current trajectory, the former Republican presidential candidate argued that BuzzFeed faces a nonzero risk of bankruptcy given its small cash position relative to its debt, declining revenue base and the repayment of outstanding convertible debt coming due.

In order to turn things around, Ramaswamy believes BuzzFeed should right-size its headcount for the AI-driven changes that are coming to its business, focus on creator-led audio and video content and distinguish itself from its competitors by admitting past journalistic failures and redefining its brand around the pursuit of truth.

In order to pull off the turnaround, Ramaswamy also believes the company needs to diversify its leadership to include more Republican perspectives. Ramaswamy has nominated three new board directors and is asking BuzzFeed to add them to the leadership team by July 15.

Don’t Miss: Thanks Vivek! Comcast Sells Part Of BuzzFeed After Stock Rally From Politician’s Purchase

BZFD Price Action: BuzzFeed shares were up 3% at $2.89 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Shutterstock.