A billionaire who famously met with former President Donald Trump has agreed to purchase a social networking company.
No, not Elon Musk.
Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, has reached a deal to buy Parler, the right-wing-oriented social media website, according to a statement from its parent company Parlement Technologies.
Parler, which is currently run by the husband of conservative pundit Candace Owens, said the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. The Nashville-based company has raised $56 million to date, although a purchase price was not disclosed, according to the statement.
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The announcement comes not long after Kanye’s Twitter and Instagram accounts were restricted after the artist made antisemitic posts earlier this month. Now, he is positioned to own his own social media outlet, one that just so happened to be temporarily banned from Apple’s app store and Google Play after the January 6 capitol riots.
Parler is one of a few social media sites, along with others like Trump-owned Truth Social and Gab, that pitch a free-speech-oriented, conservative alternative to Twitter.
Twitter, importantly, is set to be acquired by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who agreed earlier this month to buy the company for his original offer of $44 billion after the company filed a lawsuit to stop him from reneging.
Among the policy changes Musk has floated is reinstating Trump’s personal account, which was removed from Twitter, among other platforms, in the days following January 6, 2021.
In his absence from Twitter, the former president founded the company that owns Truth Social, which he has utilized as his Twitter alternative of choice.
The rightwing social media space is crowded. In addition to Parler, Truth Social and Gab, there is Rumble, a video platform that went public in September. Among its investors are billionaire Peter Thiel and Ohio Republican US Senate nominee JD Vance.
Despite the competition, Parler believes Ye’s involvement gives them an edge in this ecosystem.
"The proposed acquisition will assure Parler a future role in creating an uncancelable ecosystem where all voices are welcome," the company said in a statement.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel