• by Sara Guaglione , March 18, 2020

Dad-focused digital brand Fatherly has been acquired by Some Spider Studios, the media company that owns Scary Mommy and The Dad.

“In these times, there is so much heightened anxiety for parents,” Michael Rothman, cofounder-CEO of Fatherly, told Publishers Daily. It felt like an appropriate time to “pool our resources” and bring the two companies together.

The transaction was completed last Thursday. Discussions began in September. 

Terms of the all-stock deal were not disclosed.

Combined revenue of Fatherly and Some Spider Studios was $35 million last year. Scary Mommy is profitable and made $6 million in profits last year.

Fatherly was profitable in Q4, and it expects to be profitable “in a sustained basis” in April,” Rothman said.

Rothman will remain CEO of Fatherly, and the “vast majority” of his team is joining the new company at Some Spider’s offices in the Flatiron District, including the entire editorial team, according to Vinit Bharara, founder-CEO of Some Spider Studios.

Editorial teams will remain independent, but the two companies will go out as a “unified force” to advertisers, Bharara said. 

Going forward, campaigns could roll out across the company’s portfolio.

Rothman and Bharara found themselves talking to the same advertisers, which said they “would love to be able to reach moms and dads together,” Rothman said.

This acquisition means Fatherly can “accelerate growth, have a partner with the same vision, with a complementary audience and revenue diversification," he said.

“Our missions were very similar,” Bharara added. “We are both very pro-family, pro-mom and dad.” 

Both companies also cover the “full life cycle of parenting,” not just parents of young kids, he added. 

“No one else in this category owns that full life cycle,” Bharara said. “The audience is 75 million folks — the category of things we can offer is enormous.”

While Some Spider Studios’ brands are more social-first and entertainment-oriented, with its audience coming mainly from Facebook and Instagram, Fatherly takes “a more expert-driven approach,” with audiences coming from search and email.

From a business perspective, Fatherly and Some Spider Studios are looking at how to own the parenting lifestyle space, and how to “maximize revenue profits for our shareholders,” Bharara added.

The companies will expore opportunities to monetize IP, through podcasts, books and shows. The acquisition “gives us more leverage as we capitalize on those other opportunities,” he said.

Bharara said there are other brands that Some Spider Studios can acquire to “keep rounding out” the space. The company is looking at those brands now, and more acquisitions could happen this year.