Mubasher: Meredith Corp. is planning to acquire Time Inc. for around $2.8 billion or at $18.50 per share in an all-cash deal.
The transaction, which will bring together two of the largest magazines, entails that Meredith takes in around $1 billion in debt.
The acquisition will be closed during the first quarter of 2018, Meredith said in a statement.
"We are creating a premier media company serving nearly 200 million American consumers across industry-leading digital, television, print, video, mobile, and social platforms positioned for growth," said Meredith Corporation chairman and CEO Stephen M. Lacy.
He added that through the deal Meredith aims to create “rich content-creation capabilities of some of the media industry's strongest national brands to a powerful local television business that is generating record earnings, offering advertisers and marketers unparalleled reach to American adults.”
Meredith’s magazine portfolio includes Better Homes & Gardens, Family Circle, allrecipes, and Shape, while Time Inc. owns Time, Sports Illustrated, People, Fortune and Entertainment Weekly.
“Meredith anticipates generating cost synergies of $400 million to $500 million in the first full two years of operation,” according to the statement.
New York-listed Meredith is looking to create a strong digital media business in order to enhance its leading position in reaching Millennials, the top official added.
Combined, the two magazine owners posted $4.8 billion in revenue in 2016, including around $2.7 billion of total advertising revenues of which about $700 million were digital advertising revenues.
