Skip to main content

Time magazine to be sold for $1.8 Billion in 2018

Meredith Corp. just announced that it is buying Time Inc.the parent company of Time Magazine for about $1.8 billion in a deal CEO Stephen Lacy described as “a transformative and financially compelling growth opportunity” that joins two giant magazine companies.  

Meredith brings with it a magazine portfolio that includes Better Homes & Gardens, Family Circle, allrecipes and Shape, while Time Inc. owns properties including Time, Sports Illustrated, People, Fortune and Entertainment Weekly.  

The companies said the deal was unanimously approved by their boards of directors and will close early next year. Meredith will pay $18.50 per share in cash for Time’s nearly 100 million outstanding shares. It said it is using $3.55 billion in financing commitments from a variety of lenders and a $650 million preferred equity from Koch Equity Development, an investment arm of Koch Industries, to finance the deal and pay down existing debt. Prior to the announcement, Meredith had just $28 million in cash on hand, according to its latest quarterly report.

Combined, the companies posted $4.8 billion in revenue last year. Meredith expects it will save up to $500 million in costs in the first two years of operation and plans to “aggressively pay down” debt by 2020. Koch Equity Development will not have a seat on the board nor influence editorial operations, the company said.  

Time Chairman John Fahey said the sale was in the best interests of the company and its shareholders, noting the price represented a 46 percent premium to the closing price of shares on Nov. 15, the day prior to media reports about the deal.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

President George Weah's One Day National Forum Successfully Attended by 26 Political Parties

On Thursday, August 8, 2018, President George Weah had a sit down with 26 political parties of Liberia.  The meeting aimed at advancing ideals that promote the spirit of national unity and political tolerance between opposition political parties and the government.  ANC, LP and UP attended the meeting as a team. According to Deputy Minister Eugene L. Fahngon, Deputy Minister for Press and Public Affairs at Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism, all 26 political parties attended and participated from start to finish.  Even though, social media was buzzing about AB Dillion walking out of the meeting, he walked out as an individual and not a political party, "the invitation was extended to political parties and not to individuals," Minister Fahngon stated in his live video.  Each political party gave ideals and recommendations, which made the meeting a great success.  According to  Deputy Minister Fahngon, "there will be future engagements as such.&quo

What President Trump and Kim Jong Un Ate

The historic summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continued midday Tuesday, as the leaders satisfied their appetites while holding negotiations with a contingent of advisers over a working lunch. The lunch, which followed a 45-minute one-on-one meeting between the leaders earlier in the morning and bilateral discussion with senior aides, was held at the Capella Hotel on Singapore’s Sentosa Island. It was far from an intimate affair, with each leader accompanied by a bevy of senior staff, according to the White House. Joining Trump were Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Chief of Staff John Kelly, National Security Advisor John Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Deputy Assistant to the President for Asian Affairs Matthew Pottinger. Kim was accompanied by Kim Yong Chol , the former spy chief and one of North Korea’s chief negotiators, as well as Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, former

Liberia: Kpanto Entertains Small Crowd at Australia Concert

Kpanto's Australia tour's first night in Perth on April 1st was a tour in terms of attendance, but the artist still managed to put up a fantastic show in spite of the low crowd. Despite Kpanto's tremendous popularity, the attendance was unsatisfactorily low. A video that was just found online shows that there were between 25 and 65 people present. According to the promoter who planned the event, the actual number was 210. Despite all, the musician provided a standout performance.