Meredith Corp. has "hired advisers to explore a sale of its Time, Fortune, Money and Sports Illustrated magazines" following its $1.84B acquisition of Time Inc in January, according to sources cited by Toonkel & Baker of REUTERS. The move "illustrates how Meredith sees some of Time Inc’s titles that attract primarily male readership as not playing to its core strength in women’s magazines." Sources said that the company has tapped Citigroup and investment bank Houlihan Lokey to "find potential buyers." The sources added that there is "no certainty that a divestiture will occur." It was "not clear how much the magazines could be worth" (REUTERS, 3/15). In N.Y., Keith Kelly notes the names of "possible suitors on the lips of industry experts" include former Time CEO Joe Ripp and Penske Media Chair & CEO Jay Penske. Publisher American Media has "expressed interest in buying some of the titles in the past." However, sources said that the company is "tapped out financially after stretching to buy Us Weekly and Men's Journal last year" (N.Y. POST, 3/16).
