Time Magazine Sold to Salesforce Co-Founder Marc Benioff and Wife Lynne
With their acquisition of Time magazine, Salesforce.com Inc. co-founder Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne will inherit a publication racing to find digital to offset a steep erosion in the print business, according to people familiar with the magazine’s financials, reported the Wall Street Journal.
The Benioffs announced they are buying Time from Meredith Corp. for $190 million, a deal expected to close within 30 days, continued the WSJ report, which added that “Time generated revenue of $173 million in 2017, and operating profit of $33 million, according to the people, who reviewed an offering document used in the transaction process. Revenue is expected to decline nearly 9% to $158 million in 2018, while operating income will be about the same.
“The Benioffs are paying around 5.76 times operating profit for Time magazine. Details of valuations in comparable transactions weren’t immediately available.
“Craig Huber, a media analyst at Huber Research Partners, said “Meredith did very well with the price that they got.” He said the Benioffs may find it difficult to operate a single magazine at a time when magazine publishers with greater scale are struggling. Daniel Kurnos, an analyst with Benchmark, said the price the Benioffs are paying is in line with Meredith investors’ expectations.”
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