American magazine publisher Time Inc has been sold to rival publisher Meredith Corp for $US1.85 billion ($A2.4 billion).
Time’s stable includes Time magazine, Fortune, People and Sports Illustrated.
Meredith – publisher of Better Homes & Gardens and Allrecipes in the US – has agreed to pay $US18.50 a share for Time, a 46 per cent premium to Time’s closing price on November 15. It’s a the third time Meredith has tried to acquire the publisher, having failed to finalise its finances the previous two times.
New owners Meredith now claims, with the addition of the Times’ titles, it will be able to reach an audience of over 200 million people globally across its print and digital properties and give it access to nearly $US700 million in digital advertising revenue.
Meredith’s CEO Stephen Lacy said of the acquisition: “The vision is the absolute premiere media company in the country with premium branded content on every platform. We’re very excited to bring these businesses together.
“This is also a digital play for Meredith, one that transforms the company into a top 10 digital media company in the US,” Lacy said.
