Time Inc asks for formal bids from potential buyers

Meredith Corporation & a group led by Edgar Bronfman Jr, have indicated interest in buying Time Inc

Time Inc, the publisher of Time, People and Sports Illustrated magazines, has requested formal bids from potential acquirers by next week, two people briefed on the plans said Tuesday.

Five parties, including Meredith Corporation and a group led by Edgar Bronfman Jr, have indicated interest in buying Time Inc. in its entirety, according to one of the people, who requested anonymity because the plans are private. At least one of the other suitors is said to be a public company.

Time Inc’s board has asked potential suitors to enter formal bids or refresh previously submitted informal bids by next week, but there is no firm deadline, and Time Inc’s board could consider bids submitted after that, according to one person.

Last year, the magazine publisher rejected a preliminary takeover bid of at least $18 a share from Bronfman and the owner of Warner Music. That offer would have valued Time Inc. at about $1.8 billion. Time Inc also rebuffed a similar offer from Bronfman last spring.

A spokesman for Meredith, the publisher of Better Homes & Gardens and Family Circle, and a representative for Bronfman did not respond to requests for comment.

Time Inc’s board has not yet decided whether it will sell the company, and it is also considering bringing on an investor, according to one of the people briefed on the plans. The company could decide not to sell itself.

Time Inc’s request for bids, which was first reported on Tuesday by Bloomberg, comes as the company transitions from a magazine publisher to a multimedia company. Time Inc, like its competitors, has faced steep declines in print advertising and circulation, and the company is looking beyond its print magazines for revenue. It has pushed aggressively into short-form video and is working with television networks to produce programs and special events.

Once the signature brand of the New York publishing industry, Time Inc has struggled to turn itself around since it was spun off from Time Warner in 2014. For 2016, the company reported revenue of a little more than $3 billion, down slightly from the previous year.

There have been some bright spots, however. Advertising revenue for 2016 increased 3 per cent, to $1.7 billion, largely because of digital advertising growth. The company secured $512 million in digital advertising revenue last year, and company executives said they expected to bring in $600 million in digital advertising revenue this year and $1 billion in the coming years. Executives said they expected overall revenue for 2017 to be roughly flat.

Time mulling sale 

• Five parties, including Meredith Corporation and a group led by Edgar Bronfman Jr, have indicated interest in buying Time Inc
• The company rejected the takeover bid of at least $18 a share from Bronfman and the owner of Warner Music
• That offer would have valued Time Inc at about $1.8 billion
• Time Inc’s board has not yet decided whether it will sell the company, and it is also considering bringing on an investor

Michael de la Merced contributed reporting.

©2017 The New York Times News Service