Beleaguered internet news site Unilad has been acquired out of administration by its arch rival Ladbible.

Ladbible confirmed the deal on Tuesday, saying that bringing the pair together will create the “largest social video publisher ever, and a youth media brand to be reckoned with”.

“We believe that the Unilad Group brands complement our existing offering and we can promise our audience more of the stuff they love from all the brands in the new Ladbible Group family,” a statement read.

The deal comes after Unilad collapsed earlier this month with debts of over £10 million.

The administrator Leonard Curtis said the sale of the business safeguards over 200 jobs in both Manchester and London, where the firms have offices.

Unilad and Ladbible were both founded by Alex Partridge, who sold £5 million of Unilad debt to Ladbible before it fell into administration, putting the firm in poll position in takeover talks.

Ladbible added: “As we go to meet our new colleagues in London and Manchester, we want to thank the teams that make the content that so many people know and love.

“They’ve worked incredibly hard throughout considerable media speculation. We look forward to working together.”

Unilad and Ladbible have a huge social media following with over 120 million acolytes. In August alone, their combined videos were viewed 4.5 billion times.