James Murdoch Near Deal To Acquire New York Magazine And Podcast Assets From Vox Media

James Murdoch‘s Lupa Systems is in advanced talks to acquire New York magazine and podcast assets from Vox Media.

Despite the struggles of traditional print publishers, New York has remained viable in large part due to its successful digital forays, including offshoots like The Cut and Vulture. Vox acquired it in 2019 in a deal valuing the magazine at $105 million.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the negotiations, which were confirmed to Deadline by a person familiar with the discussions.

Along with New York and podcasts such as Pivot, co-hosted by Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway, Vox’s portfolio includes The Verge, Eater and SB Nation.

After departing as CEO of 21st Century Fox upon the sale of most of the company to Disney in 2019, Murdoch established Lupa as an investment firm. It has subsequently acquired stakes in Tribeca Festival parent Tribeca Enterprises and the MCH Group, which runs Art Basel. Kathryn Hufschmid, Murdoch’s wife, has also invested in digital outlet The Bulwark.

Deadline parent company Penske Media Corp. took a large minority stake in Vox Media in 2023, becoming its largest shareholder.

Murdoch and his wife, along with siblings Liz and Prudence, agreed to a settlement with patriarch Rupert Murdoch last fall. That pact established Lachlan Murdoch as the heir apparent to his father’s media empire and also signaled a formal severing of ties to the family business by James Murdoch and his siblings.

If the acquisition is completed, it will return New York magazine to the Murdoch family for the first time since 1991, when Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp divested it after a decade and a half. Acquiring the magazine and the New York Post in the 1970s established Murdoch in the U.S. media after his early career focused on his native Australia.