Satirical news site The Onion has been purchased by Spanish-language television giant Univision, NPR reports. The amount paid for the Chicago-based media company was undisclosed, but reports indicate that Univision now owns a 40-percent controlling stake in the company, and will retain the option of an outright purchase of The Onion.
The deal includes other properties owned by The Onion, including the click-bait spoof site Clickhole, media news and review site A.V. Club, satirical celebrity gossip site Starwipe, advertising wing Onion Labs as well as The Onion's well-known flagship site.
Though the purchase is a bit unexpected, it isn't out of the ordinary. Disney has invested in Vice Media, and NBC has put money behind Buzzfeed and Vox. Univision's portfolio already includes other English-language publications including the African-American-oriented The Root as well as The Flama, which targets young English-speaking Latinos. Univision also owns the Fusion television channel, which could potentially air some of the video content that The Onion is already producing.
According to the terms of the deal obtained by NPR, The Onion's offices will remain in Chicago, where the company has been headquartered since moving back from New York City in 2012. That leaves the door open for more local collaborations, like the campaign devised by Onion Labs and the Illinois Healthcare Exchange. Remember the "Luck Health Plan?"
