Time Inc. looking to sell majority stake in Essence
Media is constantly evolving and industry titans are all trying different ways to keep up. Some are investing more in video and laying off their staffs by the dozen. Others are abandoning print versions of publications. And a few, like Time Inc., are focusing on their “core” products and selling off the rest.
In an example of one of those “noncore assets,” Time Inc. is looking to sell a majority stake in the Black women’s lifestyle magazine, Essence.
“We want to unlock the value here,” Time Inc. CEO Rich Battista told the Wall Street Journal. “We think the best way to do that is to bring in a strategic partner with investment capital. We’re keeping an interest because we see real upside.”
This is the first of many potential moves for Time since the company announced that decided to not sell all of its assets in April and will continue to try and fight against declining sales and circulation on its own. For now, Time will focus on its “core assets and core areas of growth” such as People, InStyle and Time.