Jahm Najafi, a part owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, is the deep-pocketed backer Nikki Finke has corralled in her bid to buy back Deadline.com from Jay Penske, Media Ink has learned.
Najafi’s Phoenix-based investment firm, the Najafi Cos., is also a big investor in Jeff Berg’s talent agency, Resolution, reportedly pumping $200 million into that deal.
Talks to buy Deadline Hollywood from Penske Media are apparently cooling off, despite what one source said was at least one face-to-face meeting and a flurry of calls between Penske and Najafi in recent weeks.
While Finke has driven Penske crazy, he is loath to sell the Deadline site because it has turned into a very lucrative franchise since he purchased it from Finke four years ago.
Its annual revenues are an estimated $12 million to $15 million — and with only a 10-person staff, it is said to be operating at a 75 percent profit margin.
Penske Media last year purchased Variety from Reed Elsevier for an estimated $30 million. Finke was apparently angry that she was not given a role in running Variety, which scrapped its daily print edition but kept a weekly magazine and a website. Deadline draws more Web traffic than its more established rival, and Finke has argued that breaking news should be the domain of Deadline.
Since the latest dispute between Penske and Finke erupted several weeks ago, she has been on a prolonged vacation with limited postings.
Her employment contract has several more years to run, and Penske has said in the past he expects her to fulfill that contract.
Penske has not commented on any talks with Najafi, but through a spokeswoman said, “We have not received any offers from third parties to purchase the Deadline.com business from PMC. And furthermore, it would be highly unlikely for PMC to sell one of our properties — during the last 10 years, PMC has only sold one of its 20 properties, the Mail.com business, as PMC continues to be a long-term investor in its digital brands.”
Neither Finke nor Najafi could be reached for comment.