Barry Diller Explores Sale of The Daily Beast

The tech mogul Barry Diller was one of the first billionaires to experiment with digital journalism in the 2000s, teaming up with longtime editor Tina Brown to start The Daily Beast, a scrappy tabloid for the budding online era.

Now, Mr. Diller’s 14-year run as owner of the internet muckraker may be coming to an end.

IAC, the holding company founded by Mr. Diller that owns digital properties including People, Better Homes and Gardens and Southern Living, has hired the advisory firm Whisper Advisors to explore the sale of The Daily Beast, according to two people with knowledge of the decision.

The sale process is in the early stages, the people said, and it may not result in a deal. The price The Daily Beast might command in a sale is not clear.

An IAC spokeswoman declined to comment.

The Daily Beast has had journalistic successes, churning out scoops on the media industry and political and national security issues over the years. Last year, it broke the news that Herschel Walker, the Republican nominee for Senate in Georgia, was the father of children he had not previously mentioned publicly.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/13/business/media/daily-beast-sale-barry-diller.html