Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff attends the TIME100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York on April 26, 2023.
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images
Greek media company Antenna Group is in talks to acquire Time from Sales force co-founder Marc Benioffaccording to people familiar with the matter.
No deal is assured and talks are still early days, said the people, who asked to remain anonymous because the discussions are private.
“There is no agreement to sell Time,” said a Time spokesperson, who declined to comment on discussions with Antenna. A spokesperson for Antenna Group did not respond to comment.
Benioff acquired Time in 2018 for $190 million. Initial discussions with Antenna focused on a price of $150 million, one of the sources said.
The negotiations come at a particularly turbulent time for traditional media companies, which are trying to stay afloat as digital assets amid competition from free services such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
Comcast announced Thursday it is considering a spinoff of its cable network group. The Washington Post, owned by fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos, has lost more than 10% of its subscribers in recent days after deciding it would not support a candidate in the US presidential election. according to NPR.
Benioff and his wife, Lynne, purchased Time from Meredith Corp., which had owned the magazine for less than a year.
“The Benioffs have proven themselves to be in the best position, willing to put journalistic integrity ahead of corporate gains,” said Alan Murray, chief content officer for Time Inc. brands at Meredith. at the time.
The Antenna group almost acquired Vice Media in 2022 before the company declares bankruptcy. Most of his investments have been focused on Europe, although he did invest in Arianna Huffington’s tech company, Thrive Global.
Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.
