Ziff Davis, the owner of tech publications like Mashable, IGN, and Lifehacker, has acquired CNET from Red Ventures, a company with a diverse digital and media portfolio, in a transaction exceeding $100 million. Back in 2000, CNET Networks Inc. purchased Ziff-Davis Inc. and its online service ZDNet for $1.6 billion. After a series of ownership changes, Red Ventures bought CNET, along with several smaller sites, from ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global) in 2020 for $500 million. Ziff Davis became a public company in 2021 after J2 Global spun off its cloud business. Earlier this year, Axios reported that Red Ventures aimed to sell CNET for around $250 million, but that deal fell through. Ziff Davis CEO Vivek Shah stated that acquiring CNET aligns with the company's strategy of using its approximately $800 million in cash reserves to expand its digital media portfolio.