Jahm Najafi, Pamplona Capital bid for Time Inc
10 Mar 2017
A consortium that includes Jahm Najafi, chief executive of the Phoenix-based investment firm Najafi Companies, and private-equity firm Pamplona Capital Management, have bid for Time Inc, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
In December 2016, Time Inc, the owner and publisher of over 100 magazine brands including Time, had hired Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp to help with a takeover or partnership interest from potential buyers. (See: Time Inc hires bankers to evaluate takeover or partnership interest)
The move came two weeks after Time rejected a $18 and $20 a share, or $2 billion takeover bid from consortium led by billionaire investor Edgar Bronfman Jr.
Founded in 1922 by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden, New York City-based Time Inc owns and publishes over 100 magazine brands, taht apart from its flagship Time, also include Sports Illustrated, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, Fortune, People, InStyle, Life, Golf Magazine, Southern Living, Essence, Real Simple, and Entertainment Weekly.
It also owns the UK magazine house Time Inc. UK, whose major titles include What's on TV, NME, Country Life, Wallpaper and InStyle.
Time Inc. also operates over 60 websites and digital-only titles including MyRecipes, TheSnug, HelloGiggles and MIMI.
Like many other publishers, Time Inc. has been hit by a decline in print ad sales since advertisers spend more on other media and readers increasingly move online, but its digital advertising is doing well with revenue rising 63 per cent in the latest quarter.
The company has also been saddled with $1.5 billion in debt after it spun off from Time Warner in June 2014.
