Time Inc. to sell assets amid push for online
The publisher needs to shed weight soon if it wants to survive
TIME INC. is planning to sell some magazines or other properties as the struggling publisher tries to push ahead with a digital strategy and move past months of talks with potential acquirers.
The owner of Sports Illustrated and People will look to offload “relatively smaller” titles in its portfolio and other “non-core” assets, chief executive officer Rich Battista said on Wednesday. He didn’t name the assets. Battista added that Time is open to joint ventures with other companies and interested in an outside investor who could provide capital “for a particular opportunity.” publishers, Time is struggling to transform itself as print advertising dries up and the lion’s share of digital advertising dollars goes to Facebook and Google.
The magazine owner has spent months restructuring its business and replacing senior management, hoping to persuade advertisers to pour money into its magazine titles.
This fall, Time plans to introduce a Sports Illustrated online video service with documentaries and insights from the magazine’s reporters, part of its growing push into video. Some of Time’s smaller titles include Sunset magazine and What’s On TV, which is based in the UK.
On an earnings conference, one of its investors demanded more detail about Time’s strategic plan.
“You constantly refer to this strategic plan, but you provide no numbers for the shareholders to basically grasp what this company will look like in two or three years,” said Leon Cooperman, of Omega Advisors, which owns 3.9% of the magazine publisher, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“I think it’s incumbent upon the company to share with the shareholders, the people that have the money invested, what the strategic plan would yield,” Cooperman said.
He urged the company to hold an analyst day and reveal its strategic plan in more detail.
Battista replied that Time hired an adviser to cut costs and believes it can reach $1 billion in digital revenue, but did not provide a timeline.
In an interview, Battista said the company would provide some profit guidance going forward and “other insights when appropriate.”
“We feel really excited and confident in our plan,” Battista said. – Bloomberg
Its net loss widened as print advertising sales declined 21%