Magnify Acquires Waywire, Cory Booker-Backed Startup
Video curation company Magnify has acquired video startup Waywire, All Things D reported. This is a new avenue for Magnify, as Waywire is a consumer-facing site, but the deal may be more about video curation than it looks. According to TechCrunch, the acquisition gives Magnify access to videos from AOL, MSNBC, and Yahoo, which it can add to its curation pool. Sources say that little money changed hands in the deal, and that Magnify paid primarily in equity.
What little attention Waywire got came from Newark, New Jersey mayor and Senate candidate Cory Booker, who was one of the company's three founders. After the New York Times reported that Oprah Winfrey, Eric Schmidt, and others only backed the venture to get in good with Booker, he stepped down and donated his portion to charity in September.
Waywire was created as a place for millennials to share user-generated content and to talk about issues. Waywire has raised $1.75 million in investments, while Magnify has raised around $5 million. Magnify hasn't updated its blog with a comment on the acquisition.
Booker is projected to win a special election for Senate on Wednesday, although his lead has been falling in the final weeks.
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