Time Inc. entertaining potential buyout offers
2 suitors have signed nondisclosure deals
Time Inc. is once again being pursued by potential buyers.
But this time, the company, whose magazine brands include its standard-bearer news weekly,
People and Sports Illustrated, appears to be listening.
Among the suitors are Des Moines-based magazine publisher and broadcasting company Meredith Corp., and an investment group that includes Accretive LLC, whose managing partner Edgar Bronfman Jr. is the former chairman and CEO of Warner Music, and Access Industries, founded by entrepreneur Len Blavatnik.
Both have signed non-disclosure agreements, and there are other potential suitors, a person familiar with the situation told USA TODAY. Time Inc. is responding to the bidders, which were first reported by The Wall Street
Journal, and did not seek bids. In the coming weeks, Meredith Corp., which publishes Better
Homes & Gardens and Shape and has 17 TV stations in cities including Atlanta and Phoenix, will gain access to Time Inc. financial data and meet with senior execs. The Accretive-Access Industries group, which three months ago had a bid rebuffed by Time Inc., has already begun meeting with management.
Shares of Time Inc., up 1.3% to $18.90 Wednesday, have risen more than 40% over the last three months amid speculation about an acquisition.
Time Inc. and Meredith Corp declined to comment. Representatives for Accretive and Access Industries did not respond to requests for comment.
The company could parcel out some of its brands or take an investor. Meredith Corp. “would be a good fit for the Time Inc. monthlies,” said Craig Huber, the CEO of Huber Research Partners. But the company’s weeklies and U.K. magazines “make much less sense for Meredith to buy, though,” he said.
However, Huber doesn’t see a buyer paying more than 10% above Time Inc.’s current stock price, which values the company at about $1.85 billion.
Speaking last month, Meredith Corp. CEO Steve Lacy said the company was open to potential acquisitions and mergers, but declined to offer specifics, The Des
Moines Register reported. “As we’ve consistently stated, we continue to explore opportunities to add attractive print, broadcast and of course digital brands to our media portfolio,” he said.
Time Inc. was spun off from Time Warner in June 2014 after Meredith reportedly approached Time Inc. about a merger in 2013. Bloomberg reported last month that Meredith had contacted Time Inc. again about a possible tie-up.
In December 2016, Time Inc. CEO Rich Battista sent a holiday note to staffers — a copy of which was obtained by the Journal — in which he addressed rumors about possible deals and said “it would not be surprising if third parties were to show interest in our company.”