Time Warner Looking to Sell Magazine Holdings

Time Warner is looking to sell its magazine holdings to Iowa-based Mederith Corp., possibly ending its reign as the nation’s largest magazine publisher.

Reports from those close to negotiations say that Time Warner would retain its newsweekly, Time magazine, as well as Sports Illustrated and Forbes. But Time Warner would hand over titles such as People, InStyle, and Real Simple among others.

Sources claim that the proposal would see Time Warner and Meredith spin off their magazine holdings into a new, separate company; doing so would afford Time Warner some new tax benefits.

With the exclusion of the aforementioned titles, Time Warner’s magazine holdings are estimated at between $2.4 and $2.9 billion.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the magazine division’s “revenue fell 7% to $3.4 billion and operating income declined 25% to $420 million because of lower advertising and subscription revenues.” The Journal went on to note that there are plans afoot to “cut the workforce by 6% in a bid to cut costs, leading to a $60 million restructuring charge in the first quarter.”