BuzzFeed Shares Surge After Pulte Family Takes “Activist Position,” Joins Vivek Ramaswamy

Shares of Buzzfeed jumped 26% moments ago after the Pulte Family revealed an “activist position” in BuzzFeed, supporting the changes Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate, has proposed for the media company. 

“In our opinion, the Current BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti is driving the company into the ground, and when Vivek Ramaswamy gave him a lifeboat to save his sinking ship, Peretti told him thanks anyway,” William J. Pulte, CEO of Pulte Capital and a former Director of PulteGroup, wrote in a statement released on X.

Pulte said, “This is exactly the type of hubris that needs to end in corporate America; at every turn, CEO Peretti has delivered unacceptable financial and operational performance, quarter after quarter. If CEO Peretti isn’t up to modernize BuzzFeed, then he should bring in someone who is or he should buy the company back from its shareholders.”

He added, “We support the changes Vivek Ramaswamy has proposed and that which he thinks are necessary.” 

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The Pulte Family Acquires Activist Position in BuzzFeed (BZFD:NASDAQ) And Supports Changes Proposed by Vivek Ramaswamy

The Pulte Family is concerned about the trajectory of… pic.twitter.com/xJ2l7PCfuF

— Pulte (@pulte) July 16, 2024

Axios reported on June 24 that Ramaswamy and two of his proposed directors spoke with CEO Peretti via conference call to discuss his activist campaign against the media company.

In May, Ramaswamy announced his BuzzFeed stake with a letter to the company’s board, saying the media company has “lost its way.” 

Ramaswamy holds approximately a 7.7% stake in BuzzFeed, while the size of the Pulte Family’s stake has not been disclosed. 

Pulte concluded, “For the avoidance of doubt, we are not working in concert with and are not working in a group with Mr. Ramaswamy. To that end, we did not inform Mr. Ramaswamy before we purchased shares in BuzzFeed.”