Ex-Time Inc. Digital Head Vivek Shah Buys Ziff Davis

Former executive acquires publisher of PCMag.com

Vivek Shah — the former Time Inc. executive responsible for the mega-publisher’s biggest digital brands (CNNMoney.com, Time.com, SI.com) — is acquiring Ziff Davis, the once-mighty tech publisher and owner of PCMag.com.

Shah — who spent 14 years at Time Inc. — becomes CEO. “This is an unusual opportunity to acquire a recognized category leader with a very deep team of talent that has already fully transitioned to digital,” he said in a statement.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Shah’s being backed by Great Hill Partners, a Boston-based company that targets investments in the $50 million to $150 million range. (That’s a shocking figure for a company that 10 years ago sold its magazine division for $780 million.)

In 2008, Ziff Davis shuttered the print version of PC Magazine; in 2009, it exited the print magazine business entirely.

In Ziff’s current iteration, Shah gets PCMag.com, ExtremeTech, GearLog, GoodCleanTech, DL.tv, AppScout, CrankyGeeks, Smart Device Central and TechSaver.com, which reach a combined 7 million inique visitors per month.

The acquisition also incudes ZiffLabs, the "largest and first computer testing lab in the industry."

Shah stepped down from Time Inc. last November. “There are all sorts of possibilities in the digital world and I will be exploring it,” he told PaidContent at the time.

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