Why Is Patricof Smiling? Greycroft Sees 6x Return on HuffPo Sale
The biggest winners in AOL’s purchase of Huffington Post for $315 million are Greycroft Partners and Softbank Capital, both of which will walk away with about $75 million, for an estimated return of 6x each, according to data from Thomson Reuters (publisher of this blog). Alan Patricof, co-founder of Greycroft, confirmed to peHUB that the firm will see a return of about 6x on its investment, but he said investment details from Thomson Reuters (see below) are incorrect. He declined to disclose detailed financial data. Thomson Reuters reports that Huffington Post, a political news website, pulled in $35 million in venture funding over three rounds: a $5 million Series A valued at $22.84 million from Greycroft and Softbank in 2006; a $5 million Series B valued at $31.6 million from Greycroft, Softbank and the Pilot Group in 2007; and a $25 million Series C valued at $111.4 million from Greycroft, Softbank and Oakstone Venture Partners in 2008.
