WJR Business Beat: Benzinga Reaches $300-Million Evaluation (Episode 310)

  Good morning, Paul! Hats off to our good friends at Benzinga, a Detroit company whose mission is to connect the world with news, data and education that makes the path to financial prosperity easier for everyone. As the folks at Benzinga describe themselves, Benzinga is the leading full-service one-stop shop for investors of all stripes and styles. Now, this company was founded in 2010 by Jason Raznick and now claims 25 million readers a month of its financial content. And here’s the big news: Benzinga has just announced that Beringer Capital, a private equity firm focused on media, marketing and technology sectors, acquired a majority stake in the stock market site Benzinga in a deal valued at $300 million. Now, Beringer Capital has offices in Toronto and New York, and has a history of partnering with digital media companies and helping them to adapt and thrive amid a rapidly changing business landscape. The chairman and managing partner at Beringer had this to say about the big announcement: “We’re thrilled to partner with Jason and the team at Benzinga, a company at the forefront of trends affecting the next generation of investors.” The company’s plan to grow Benzinga’s subscriber and user base by offering deeper-content vertical coverage, new forms of media expanded business to business partnerships, and UI and UX improvements on the site, and more. Congratulations, zingers, as you call yourselves at Benzinga, you deserve it. Paul, Jason Raznick started this company in 2010 in his basement with a $3,000 investment. And in a little over 10 years, it’s now valued at $300 million. This is further proof, not only of the amazing abilities entrepreneurs possess to pursue a vision and to make it happen big, but also this is another feather in our cap and the Detroit startup and entrepreneurial scene. I’m Jeff Sloan, founder and CEO of startupnation.com and that’s today’s Business Beat on the Great Voice of the Great Lakes, WJR.