Ars Technica acquired by Condé Nast

Ars Technica, one of the leading technology sites on the Web with 4.4 million unique monthly visitors and 30+ million monthly page views, will become part of WIRED Digital, operating as an independent unit of the fast-growing division, it was announced today.

The announcement was made by Sarah Chubb, president of CondéNet, the digital division of Condé Nast, which has managed the growth of the WIRED Digital sites, and David Carey, group president, Condé Nast, who oversees the sales and marketing efforts for WIRED Digital.

“We welcome Ars Technica to WIRED Digital and Condé Nast, as we believe this fantastic site allows us to accelerate our expansion by tapping into a vital and sophisticated community," Chubb said. "WIRED Digital can now provide a network of highly trafficked technology sites that attract an engaged, tech-savvy reader."

In addition, Webmonkey, the popular web developer tutorial site, will be re-launched under WIRED Digital. Plans are also underway to revive HotWired.com, recognized as a pioneer in the industry as one of the first commercial web brands.

The combined sites of WIRED Digital now reach close to 19 million unique visitors per month.

"The rapid growth of the WIRED Digital family-with the momentum of Wired.com and Reddit, the addition of Ars Technica, and the return of Webmonkey and HotWired-will allow us to have a larger voice and presence in the technology publishing arena and offer an exciting digital platform for our advertisers," Carey said.

Founded in 1998 by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes, Ars Technica is regarded for producing insightful, opinionated tech news and analysis for its audience. Based in Boston, MA, Ars Technica will soon open offices in Chicago and San Francisco. Ars Technica will continue to be managed by Fisher, who will report to Chubb.

The growth of WIRED Digital began with the purchase of WIRED News in July, 2006 from Lycos Inc. and continued with the acquisition of Reddit later that year. More recently, the iconic Web brands Webmonkey and HotWired, returned home to WIRED Digital, in a separate transaction with Lycos.