Time Magazine sold in Koch-backed deal

International Desk: US magazine publisher Time Inc. will be bought by rival media company Meredith Corporation for $2.8bn (£2.1bn).

The deal is backed by the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, who are known for supporting economically conservative causes.

Meredith is an Iowa-based publisher and broadcaster which has made two previous unsuccessful bids for Time.

Time has struggled with declining advertising revenues since it was spun off from Time Warner in 2014.

In November, Time's third quarter revenue slipped 9.5% to $679m, marking the sixth straight quarter the publisher fell short of analysts expectations.

"This all-cash transaction, and the immediate, certain value it provides, is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders," Time's Chairman John Fahey said in a statement.

Meredith owns print publications Family Circle and Better Homes and Gardens as well as local television stations across the US.

The company said the deal will give it nearly $700m in digital advertising revenues and an "unmatched reach" to the valuable millennial customers, in their twenties and thirties.

BBC


risingbd/Dhaka/Nov 27, 2017/Nasim