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US: Meredith and Koch brothers buy Time Inc in $2.8bn deal

By  |  November 26, 2017

Time Inc has been sold to rival media group Meredith Corporation in a deal valued at US$2.8bn and backed by the Koch brothers, giving the conservative billionaires a stake in one of America’s best-known publishers.

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    Meredith said on Sunday it had agreed to acquire Time Inc’s outstanding shares for US$18.50 a share in cash, representing a 46% 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 US$650m in preferred equity from Koch Equity Development, Charles and David Koch’s private equity arm. The publisher has also secured US$3.55bn in debt financing from RBC Capital Markets, Credit Suisse, Barclays and Citigroup Global Markets.

    It is not clear what role, if any, the Kochs will take through their investment in the publisher. They will not have a seat on Meredith’s board and, Meredith said, “will have no influence on Meredith’s editorial or managerial operations”.

    The Koch brothers, who have a net worth of US$48.2bn each, according to Forbes, control Koch Industries, the US’s second-largest private company. They have used their wealth to champion free-market causes, including corporate tax cuts and deregulation. A previous foray into media fizzled: in 2013, they explored buying eight regional newspapers owned by the Tribune Company (now known as Tronc), including the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, but ultimately decided against a bid.

    Full Content: New York Times

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