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Time Inc. rejects buyout bid from billionaire Edgar Bronfman Jr.

By
Keith J. Kelly
Published Nov. 28, 2016
Updated Nov. 28, 2016, 9:01 a.m. ET

Edgar Bronfman Jr. is making a bid to buy Time Inc., publisher of People, Time and Sports Illustrated, The Post has learned.

Bronfman, who is teaming up with Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries, recently submitted a bid to the board of the legendary magazine publisher to buy the company for $18 a share.

The price is a 30 percent premium over Time Inc.’s Friday closing price of $13.80 — and 34 cents over the company’s 52-week high of $17.66.

The Time Inc. board is said to have rejected the offer.

Also a part of the bidding group is Israeli businessman Ynon Kreiz, according to reliable industry sources.

The trio of executives have a long and friendly relationship. Kreiz is on the board of Warner Music Group, which is controlled by Access Industries.

In a friendly takeover, Access purchased WMG from Bronfman for $3.3 billion in May 2011.

Time Inc., founded 94 years ago on Monday, includes some of the most prestigious print brands in the business, including Time, People, In Style and Sports Illustrated.

The New York publisher has been working rapidly in recent years to re-position itself as a more broad-based digital media company — becoming less dependent on print advertising revenue.

But the trek has not been easy. Saddled with $1.5 billion in debt after the spinoff from Time Warner in June 2014, Time Inc. has been limited to relatively small add-on acquisitions in the digital sphere.

With print revenues still declining the company was originally hoping that 2016 would be the year that it finally started posting revenue gains — but in reporting third quarter results it told Wall Street that 2016 revenue would be, at best, flat or down slightly.

It has also been rapidly realigning its executive structure.

Joe Ripp, CEO since before the split, stepped down in September and was replaced by Rich Batista, an executive vice president with a long history in cable — and a short tenure at Time Inc.

Batista had been hired to run People and Entertainment Weekly with a mandate to quickly grow the titles’ digital revenue. He later added SI.

While the company pursued a massive makeover, Time Inc. attracted activist investors, including Jana Partners and, more recently, Leon Cooperman’s Omega Advisors.

At the same time, rumors surfaced that Time Inc. was weighing some kind of alliance with Meredith Corp. No formal talks have taken place between the two companies since 2014, however, sources said.

If a bid is ultimately successful it would likely mark a major change in direction for a company that still derives the bulk of its revenue from print.

Kreiz is the chairman and chief executive of Maker Studios, which produces short form video for You Tube. It was sold to Disney for $500 million. Maker controls short form stars such as PewDiePie.

After 24hbongdda.site reported exclusively on the bid, Time Inc. shares spiked 13.8 percent, to $15.70, in pre-market trading.

Time Inc. on Monday morning declined to comment on any possible bid.

Bronfman, a managing partner of Accretive LLC, a private equity firm, was said to be out of the country an unavailable for comment. Neither Blavatnik nor Kreiz could be reached for comment.