J2 Global Inc. of Hollywood announced on Thursday that Chief Executive Hemi Zucker will resign on Dec. 1, 2017 to become a managing principle of venture capital firm OCV Management.
J2 Global plans to invest $200 million in OCV Management of Mid-Wilshire as part of its venture strategy. Vivek Shah, chief executive of Ziff Davis, J2 Global’s digital media business will become chief executive upon Zucker’s resignation.
Under Zucker’s leadership J2 Global has acquired more than 155 companies, expanding the firm’s revenue streams beyond its e-fax business to a number of markets such as cloud services, patent licensing and digital media. Zucker previously explained that rolling up small competitors was a cost-efficient way to acquire new customers.
J2 Global’s stock price has increased more than 60 percent over the past five years to about $75 a share. The company has a market capitalization of $3.6 billion.
OCV is a venture capital firm organized by J2 Global’s board chairman, Richard Ressler. The venture firm’s website said it makes investments from $5 million to $40 million in companies that have revenue of more than $2 million with unique intellectual property for information technology, e-commerce, media and telecommunications and clean technology; have regulatory traction and substantiated scientific results for life science and healthcare products or services; and have found a market fit for their products or services.
