The BuzzFeed lesson and Classplus’s $65 million fundraise

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Editor's note: On Wednesday, BuzzFeed finally put all speculation to rest and announced that it is going public via a SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company. I was mildly disappointed that the digital media company’s investor presentation did not list 10 reasons as to why this listing is the only way forward for the company. Instead, it simply laid out the SPAC process, the details on valuation, revenue and EBITDA numbers, and its plan to acquire another online publisher. To make this listing happen, BuzzFeed is merging with 890 5th Avenue Partners Inc.—a SPAC founded by the investor Adam Rothstein. As a part of BuzzFeed’s move to go public, the company will also be acquiring lifestyle publisher Complex Networks, which operates sites like Complex, Sole Collector and Pigeons & Planes. The point of this acquisition is to push BuzzFeed’s valuation as well as its revenue a little ahead—a strategy that the company will be looking at actively in the coming months as well. There is a lot to cheer for in this listing. After more than a decade of trying (and failing) …