Magazine publisher and broadcast company Meredith Corp. said it will acquire Time Inc. in a deal valued at $2.8 billion, a further sign of the steep challenges facing the print magazine industry.
The Des Moines-based company said it agreed to pay $18.50 a share for New York-based Time Inc., the publishing company that owns the magazines Time, Fortune and Sports Illustrated. Time Inc.'s share price was $18.45 in early trading Monday.
The deal _ which includes $1.85 billion in cash and the assumption of debt _ had been approved by both firms' boards of directors and is expected to close in the first quarter in 2018.
The transaction received financial backing from the billionaire Koch brothers, Charles and David. Meredith said it secured $650 million from Koch Equity Development, the investment arm of Koch Industries, but the publisher said Koch Equity Development would not have a seat on the Meredith board and "will have no influence on Meredith's editorial or managerial operations."
Media experts questioned whether the Koch brothers would use Time's storied publications to promote their brand of conservative politics.
Rich Battista, who has been Time Inc.'s president and chief executive for only slightly more than a year, will leave the publisher after helping Meredith's management with the transition, Time Inc. said.
Meredith's best-known brands include Family Circle and Better Homes and Gardens. In addition to Time magazine, Time Inc. also publishes Entertainment Weekly and People.
Like all traditional print publications, both Time and Meredith have struggled to replace shrinking print ad revenue.
Time Inc., which was spun off from Time Warner Inc. in 2014, has been hard hit as more readers migrate to digital platforms.
