According to a report by The New York Times, media conglomerate Time Warner is in talks with "a serious buyer" to sell some of its big titles like InStyle, People and Real Simple.
Reports about Time Warner being in talks with other business to sell some of its big magazine titles have been making the rounds. According to a report by Time Warner's own publication, Fortune, the company is in talks with BDT Capital Partners and an unnamed "serious buyer" about selling People, InStyle and Real Simple. However, they will continue to retain their iconic titles like Time, Sports Illustrated and Fortune. Fortune clarified that the talks are in the initial stages and may not even solidify into a deal.
Later, The New York Times published a story that suggested the company was in talks with Meredith Corporation, who own titles like Better Homes and Gardens and Ladies' Home Journal about the potential sale.
A publishing executive told Adweek he can confirm news that Carlyle and Meredith had teamed up with interest in buying magazines and approached other publishers recently but had been rejected.
Time Inc.'s ( publishing unit of Time Warner) new CEO, Laura Lang, has been trying to improve the company's performance by firing 480 people, or 6 percent of the global workforce; introducing new digital ad products and creating a centralized video unit.
"This is kind of a bellwether event, because it's the largest magazine company in the world splitting the company up," said Reed Phillips of media investment bank DeSilva + Phillips. "It's the end of an era." A sale wouldn't necessarily signal that the industry is moving away from ownership consolidation, however, he added. "The issue of Time Inc. is a Time Warner issue. Magazines have become a much smaller piece of the puzzle there."
