But other companies, such as Vice and Bustle, that thought there may be a path to going public on their own in the coming months have pulled back, said the people.
A SPAC raises capital in an initial public offering as a so-called blank check company without a target acquisition in mind.
Earlier this year, with so many SPACs entering the market, digital media companies seemed assured of finding a shell company with associated additional equity.
Buzzfeed may be the only significant digital media company to go public this year, said three of the people.
Buzzfeed may make sense a target for the Group Nine SPAC — especially because Group Nine CEO Ben Lerer has told investors he may be willing to step aside as chief executive, as CNBC reported earlier this year — but no deal is imminent, the people said.
There are few, if any, companies comparable to Buzzfeed that trade publicly.
Vice slowed down its process to go public after PIPE candidates balked at its finances, one of the people said.
As a result, some companies will become increasingly desperate to sell to either Buzzfeed or Group Nine’s SPAC, if they are the only buyers with publicly traded currency, said two of the people familiar with the matter.