Social news website Reddit has announced that it has spun off from parent company Conde Nast and become a separate operation -- albeit one that isn't changing hands.
Reddit Inc. will be 100% owned by Advanced Publications, the parent company of Conde Nast. "We can set up a structure that has the benefits of outside influence, without giving up equity to an outside firm," Advance Publications biz dev chief Steve Newhouse told AllThingsD.
The newly-formed company will have more operational freedom than before. Conde Nast CEO Bob Sauerberg and CTO Joe Simon will join the company's board of directors, along with Advance's Newhouse and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
"Reddit has become the engine for creating innovative and influential communities online," Ohanian said in a Google+ post. "I'll do everything I can to help and guide the Reddit, Inc. team and our CEO to grow true to the vision we've had since that summer of 2005."
First order of business for the reformed Reddit: find a new CEO. "As part of the new structure, Reddit Inc. has also started the search for a CEO who can help us reach our full, unbridled potential," Reddit general manager Erik Martin said in a blog post. "Make no mistake, Reddit owes its past, present, and future success to the community. We wouldn't seriously consider any individuals for the CEO position unless they understood the community and were passionate about serving its needs."