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The Onion has been sold, again. G/O Media has the humor brand to four anonymous investors calling themselves “Global Tetrahedron,” name after one of the site’s own gags.
G/O chief Jim Spanfeller confirmed the news to staffers Thursday in a memo.
The acquiring company “is made up of four digital media veterans with a profound love for The Onion and comedy based content,” Spanfeller wrote. “The site’s new owners have agreed to keep The Onion’s entire staff intact and in Chicago, something we insisted be part of the deal.” Read his memo in full below.
The satirical media outlet has changed hands several times over the past decade. G/O bought it in 2019 and recently sold off The A.V. Club, the Onion’s non-satirical arts and culture section that became its own hub in the digital age.
Back in January, The Onion’s unionized workers came close to a walkout. Employees with The Onion Union — which represents the creative staff at The Onion, The A.V. Club, Deadspin and The Takeout — reached a tentative agreement with G/O Media just hours before their contract was set to expire. The Writers Guild of America East announced the new collective bargaining agreement, which followed the guild’s authorization of an unfair labor practice strike.
According to the guild, the negotiating committee “made important gains in wages and workplace protections.”
Here is Spanfeller’s full memo:
As I mentioned to you last month we have been undergoing an extensive review of our portfolio with the intention of coring down to our leading sites in terms of audience and revenues. Today we announced great traffic gains for Quartz but also, as part of efforts to sharpen our focus, we are announcing that G/O Media has sold The Onion to a new Chicago based firm called Global Tetrahedron.
This company is made up of four digital media veterans with a profound love for The Onion and comedy based content. The site’s new owners have agreed to keep The Onion’s entire staff intact and in Chicago, something we insisted be part of the deal.
The Onion for over 35 years has been an indispensable part of our country’s cultural fabric with its unique brand of satire and comedy that continues to be just as important and relevant today than at any time during its storied history.
I would like to personally thank The Onion team for their hard work and dedication during their time at G/O Media. They are a talented group of people, who I have no doubt will continue to flourish with their new owners
Jim Spanfeller | Chief Executive Officer, G/O Media
