BuzzFeed is planning to raise up to $100 million from investors in a public stock offering.
CNNMoney first reported the news on Wednesday.
The financial terms of the deal and when BuzzFeed would start trading on the public markets haven’t been determined, a company spokeswoman said.
BuzzFeed’s stock would continue to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the spokeswoman said.
BuzzFeed could use the money.
The company has been hiring aggressively and brought on 400 new workers last year to help take advantage of its growing audience.
Profit has soared at BuzzFeed. In 2017, its loss narrowed by 41% to $50.8 million, compared to $79.9 million in 2016.
The financial gains sent the company’s stock up nearly 11% on Thursday. But shares have now given back much of those gains.
At $100 million, the funding would value BuzzFeed at about $1.2 billion.
Media companies, like Facebook and Google, have been pushing the Internet giants to spend more on content. Facebook in particular has paid high salaries to gain access to video content from several media companies, including BuzzFeed.
Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, also went public earlier this month, raising $3.4 billion in its initial public offering.
Tech companies, as well as traditional media companies, have been benefiting from a rush of cash from investors, particularly on Wall Street.
Investors were flocking to the initial public offerings of Snap and Pinterest, for example.
But technology companies, and particularly social media companies, are subject to criticism and resistance when they attempt to go public.
Shortly after Snap launched on the public markets earlier this month, the company faced sharp criticism about how it has handled privacy.
The company’s stock has been trading below its IPO price ever since. Shares closed Thursday at $16.06, after falling 3.4% on the day.
CNNMoney is a proud media partner of BuzzFeed.