CEO buys 3BlackDot, making it one of the few Black-owned media companies

The chief executive of 3BlackDot Holdings Inc. has bought the business, making it one of the few Black-owned media companies at a time when many marketers say they want to spend more money with such enterprises.

Reginald Cash said he acquired 3BlackDot, a media and marketing company focused on videogamers, from French publisher Webedia SA.

The enterprise value of 3BlackDot, including debt, is US$87 million, Mr. Cash said, adding that the deal was a combination of cash and a seller note from Webedia. With a seller note, the seller agrees to accept part of the purchase price in a series of payments made over time.

The CEO said he decided to buy 3BlackDot earlier this year after Webedia, a subsidiary of French holding company Fimalac SA, entered talks to sell the media company to a private-equity firm.

Since the protests following the 2020 murder of George Floyd, 3BlackDot has made an effort to work with more Black gamers and members of other underrepresented groups, Mr. Cash said. The company also increasingly pitches itself to CMOs as a way to help their brands appeal to diverse groups of Gen Z and millennial consumers, he said.