Politico to Acquire Energy Trade Publication E&E News

The deal will substantially expand Politico’s footprint in the energy news space and is part of a bigger move to grow its professional news business. E&E News has some 65 reporters in nine offices around the country, adding to Politico’s existing 17 editorial staffers focused on energy and environmental news.

“The story of our generation going forward is the environment and how the energy sector adapts to what needs to be done,” Robert Allbritton, Politico’s publisher and owner, said in an interview. “It is a massive story.”

Politico plans to maintain E&E News as a separate brand, the company said. E&E’s principal founder and owner, Michael Witt, will remain with the company for some time in a consulting role.

Despite the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Politico has had a solid year in 2020, according to people familiar with its performance, driven by record traffic during an election year as well as strong growth of its professional news offerings.

The company’s annual revenue rose by slightly more than 20%, exceeding its prepandemic projections, to about $160 million globally, one of the people said. About 80% of that came from its operations in the U.S. and Canada.

The news outlet will end the year with its highest-ever level of profitability—after years of hovering around break even—creating the scenario for the acquisition of E&E News to occur, the person said.

While many digital news outlets were forced to slash pay and lay off staff to get through the worst of the sharp declines in ad spending as the pandemic took hold, Politico says it added staff. It now employs some 600 people in North America plus nearly 200 more through its Politico Europe joint venture with German media conglomerate Axel Springer SE.

At the same time, Mr. Allbritton struggled with the launch of Protocol, a technology news startup that launched just as the coronavirus pandemic was hitting the U.S. Roughly half the staff of 25 was laid off a few months after its launch, but Mr. Allbritton said the site has managed to come in slightly above its projections for the year. It has since hired about six new people and is looking to add a half-dozen more, he said.

The investment in E&E News will help further diversify Politico’s revenue streams as it enters an off-election cycle political year, and its events business—which was heavily affected by the pandemic—will likely be slow to return.

Mr. Allbritton said the majority of Politico’s business comes from professional subscriptions and that most of its ad revenue relies on advocacy advertising. He expects such advertising will rise with a new presidential administration which is expected to change many regulations.

Founded in 1998, E&E offers five publications that focus on policy, market, technology and science news about the energy industry and environment issues. Primarily targeting readers at government agencies, corporations and think tanks, subscriptions run from several thousand dollars to over $100,000 annually. The company brought in around $20 million in revenue this year, one of the people familiar with the matter said.

Politico has moved to expand its professional business products in recent years. In 2020, it added eight newsletters and products focused on sustainability and the cannabis industry. It also launched AgencyIQ, which focuses on regulatory matters.

Write to Lukas I. Alpert at [email protected]