The Financial Times (FT), a major news organisation headquartered in London, has acquired a controlling stake in The Next Web (TNW), a global digital brand based in Amsterdam that connects tech enthusiasts through different media, events, and services.
In its own press release, TNW stated that “TNW continues to operate independently and its management and the founders – Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten and Patrick de Laive – continue to execute the vision that the company has set out.”
The deal marks FT Group’s first strategic investment in mainland Europe, which “will deepen the FT’s reach into the European technology community and create synergies with its existing businesses, amongst others FT Live (events),” TNW stated in a press release.
The news of the acquisition of the majority stake comes shortly after the FT and TNW announced a content partnership for the upcoming TNW Conference on May 9-10 in Amsterdam.
Of the acquisition, FT Live Global Publisher Angela Mackay had this to say: “TNW is an established and profitable business that produces one of the largest and most critically acclaimed tech startup events in Europe […] We look forward to delivering first class programs with our new partners.”
