The Daily Wire Reportedly Seeks Investors, Leaves Door Open To Sale.

In the crowded field of conservative podcasters, The Daily Wire has become the most successful with millions of listeners and downloads each month. Now it is looking to bring in new financial backers, according to a report in Semafor, which says it is even leaving the door open to a potential sale. It says co-founder Ben Shapiro met with several financial figures at the Milken Conference in Los Angeles this month. The company told Axios in December that it was seeking investors to further grow its business. The last time it raised capital, The Daily Wire was valued at more than $1 billion, according to its founders.

The company isn’t commenting but it follows a move in March by co-founder Jeremy Boreing to step away from running the company. The Daily Wire has also been trimming expenses but expanding in other areas. It is opening an office in Washington as it looks to move beyond podcasts and video to a broader digital news operation. Last year, Boreing said Daily Wire was on track to hit $200 million in annual revenue, telling Axios that the company made more than $20 million on its Jeremy’s Razors business alone.

There may not be any current plan to sell The Daily Wire, but some see Fox as a potential acquirer after it snapped up Red Seat Ventures, the content creator that has embraced conservative podcasters such as Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson, in February. Fox is reportedly interested in expanding its audio business, with Semafor reporting in December that The Daily Wire is among the companies that Fox has spoken with. At the time, Boreing said the conservative news outlet was “not closed off to an offer” and said, “it’s easy to imagine a strategic partnership with Fox or someone like Fox, that could be mutually beneficial.”

Daily Wire had nine active podcasts during April, with 5.4 million unique listeners and 30 million downloads and streams, according to Podtrac data. The roster includes shows like The Ben Shapiro Show, Morning Wire, The Michael Knowles Show, The Matt Walsh Show, The Andrew Klavan Show and The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast. This month Shapiro announced he would expand his daily show from 60 to 90 minutes.