Two young newsletter companies formed around a similar voice — the all-knowing insider, flush with juicy tips — are becoming one.
Puck has entered into an exclusive agreement to acquire Air Mail, a Puck spokeswoman confirmed Thursday, although the deal may take months to complete.
The financial terms were not disclosed, but two people briefed on the acquisition said Puck was largely paying Air Mail with its own stock.
Air Mail was founded as a weekly newsletter in 2019 by Graydon Carter, the famed bushy-haired former editor of Vanity Fair, and Alessandra Stanley, a former reporter and critic at The New York Times. The publication is largely focused on the finer corners of culture and lifestyle in the United States and Europe, with political features that skew anti-Trump. (A recent fashion article advised traveling readers on how to pack “like a divorcée.”)
Puck was founded in 2021 by a coalition of journalists and media executives including Jon Kelly, its editor, who once worked for Mr. Carter at Vanity Fair. It publishes industry-specific newsletters and podcasts by scoop-driven writers in the United States.
Both outlets take pride in covering power and glamour with cheek. In 2019, Mr. Carter described Air Mail to The Times as “the weekend edition of a nonexistent international daily.”
Now it will effectively become Puck’s weekend edition, while Puck’s existing newsletters continue to break and follow news in their worlds.
“This will unite Air Mail’s distinctive journalism, stable of luxury advertisers and sophisticated commerce platforms with Puck’s portfolio of venerated journalists, scale and proven subscriber engagement model,” spokespeople for Puck and Air Mail said in a statement.
The deal was reported earlier in Breaker, a media newsletter. Last September, The Times reported that Air Mail had hired a boutique investment bank, Raine Group, to explore a sale.
Stock deals have become common in the digital publishing industry, particularly when neither company is profitable. Vox Media acquired Group Nine Media, owner of the animal site The Dodo, for stock, and Vice acquired Refinery29, a beauty and fashion site, for a mix of stock and cash.
The two companies also share prominent investors, the private-equity giant TPG and Standard Investments, allowing both to consolidate their holdings in the digital-media industry. Air Mail also has an established e-commerce arm and brick-and-mortar shops.
Puck and Air Mail had been in talks for months, one of the people familiar with the deal said. There were several other suitors, including RedBird Capital Partners, an investment firm with major stakes in Paramount and in Artists Equity, a film studio founded by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
It’s not yet clear whether Air Mail subscribers may be converted into Puck subscribers or vice versa. A subscription to Air Mail costs about $80 per year. An annual subscription to Puck starts at $100.
Jessica Testa covers nontraditional and emerging media for The Times.
Benjamin Mullin reports for The Times on the major companies behind news and entertainment. Contact him securely on Signal at +1 530-961-3223 or at [email protected].
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