‘Time’ magazine is bought by cloud computing pioneer Marc Benioff and wife for US$190 million
The venerable US magazine, founded in 1923, is the first of four Time Inc publications to find a buyer
Time magazine is being sold by Meredith Corp to Marc Benioff, a co-founder of Salesforce, and his wife, it was announced Sunday.
Meredith announced that it was selling Time for US$190 million in cash to Benioff, one of four co-founders of Salesforce, a cloud computing pioneer.
Meredith had completed the purchase of Time along with other publications of Time Inc earlier this year.
“We’re pleased to have found such passionate buyers in Marc and Lynne Benioff for the Time brand,” Meredith president and CEO Tom Harty said in a statement. “For over 90 years, Time has been at the forefront of the most significant events and impactful stories that shape our global conversation.”
The prospective sale is expected to close within 30 days. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Benioff said he and his wife were investing “in a company with tremendous impact on the world, one that is also an incredibly strong business. That’s what we’re looking for when we invest as a family.”
The purchase of Time by Benioff continues a trend of acquisitions of old-line media institutions by wealthy tech giants. The Washington Post was purchased by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2013 for US$250 million.
Time, like other magazines, has struggled with continued declines in print advertising and news-stand sales.
Started by Yale University graduates Henry Luce and Briton Hadden, Time first went on sale in March 1923.
