Time Inc has been sold to rival media group Meredith Corporation in a deal valued at $2.8bn and backed by the Koch brothers, giving the conservative billionaires a stake in one of America’s best-known publishers.
Meredith said on Sunday it had agreed to acquire Time Inc’s outstanding shares for $18.50 a share in cash, representing a 46 per cent premium to where the stock was trading on November 15, before Meredith’s latest overture was reported. The deal has been approved by both companies’ boards and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018. Iowa-based Meredith’s bid is backed by $650m in preferred equity from Koch Equity Development, Charles and David Koch’s private equity arm. The publisher has also secured $3.55bn in debt financing from RBC Capital Markets, Credit Suisse, Barclays and Citigroup Global Markets.