Time Warner leads Refinery29 $45m funding round
Time Warner has led a $45m investment in Refinery29, a media business focused on millennial female audiences.
Turner purchases Refinery29 in $45m digital gamble
The move will see the two work together on taking the Refinery29 brand across Time Warner’s Turner Broadcasting cable channels. Christina Miller, president and general manager of Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Boomerang will join Refinery29’s board.
For Turner, the move is another attempt to broaden its online video lens, coming off the back of a $15m investment in Mashable earlier this year and its majority stake in streaming video outfit iStreamPlanet in 2015 for $148m. It represents Turner’s sizeable stake in the online media space already, one that Refinery29 will be hoping to piggyback on in order to amplify its own brand.
Turner president David Levy remarked: “In order to achieve success in today's quickly evolving digital environment, we believe in partnering with brands that have distinct voices and loyal, engaged audiences. Refinery29 certainly fits the bill, bringing with it a highly coveted following of millennial-minded women, strong capabilities in digital products, event marketing and content creation, as well as an attractive advertiser base."
Refinery29 co-founders Philippe von Borries and Justin Stefano added: “We are excited to collaborate with the Turner team to expand Refinery29 into new territories, expand and develop our leading voice in video content for women, as well as integrate into some of Turner's most exciting franchises and platforms.”
Based in New York, London and Berlin, Refinery29 boasts a reach of 225 million users across its platforms drawn to its daily diet of fashion, beauty, health and entertainment news, as well as a range of documentary and tutorial videos.
This article was amended on 14:25 on 12 August to reflect that Turner have invested $45m in Refinery29 and not purchased as originally stated.