Meredith Corp. may bid against billionaire trio for Time Inc.
As the Time Inc. drama played out for a second day, some media insiders were betting that Meredith Corp. will soon enter the fray and trigger a potential bidding war against the billionaire trio of Edgar Bronfman Jr., Len Blavatnik and Ynon Kreiz for the well-known publisher.
That fueled a second consecutive healthy increase for the slumping Time shares — which closed Tuesday at $16.30, up 1.9 percent. Or nearly 18 percent over two days — since nypost.com reported exclusively that the billionaire trio was offering to buy the company for $18 a share, or nearly $1.8 billion.
Some shareholders are clearly upset that the Time Inc. board rebuffed the offer.
Some are now speculating that a bust-up of the publisher of People, Sports Illustrated, Time and In Style looms.
“Private equity isn’t going to get this,” said one Time shareholder. “A strategic buyer is likely to step forth and values after synergies is in the mid 20s.”
The shareholder added, “I think there is a good chance the company is broken up with more than one buyer.”
So far, Time has issued no formal statement on the takeover bid, but its board is clearly feeling the heat — even as its once-beleaguered shares wiped out what was on Thanksgiving a year-to-date 12 percent decline.
“The issue is whether the new CEO and his board will do the right thing on their own — or be forced,” said the shareholder.
Time Chief Executive Rich Battista was elevated to the top spot in September, replacing Joe Ripp.
Gabelli & Co. analyst Barry Lucas, in a Tuesday report, echoed industry whispers, saying he would not be surprised to see Meredith, owner of TV stations and publisher of Better Homes & Gardens and Martha Stewart Living, return as a suitor.
“It‘s possible that a TIME/MDP deal could resurface, as we think that [Meredith] still brings cost savings & other synergies, and has twice attempted to complete a transformational transaction,” he wrote.
Lucas was referring, in part, to a move by Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes in 2013 to sell all of Time Inc. to Meredith.
The move failed.
A slightly different offer followed — but Meredith rejected it, prompting the move by Bewkes to spin off Time Inc. in 2014.
Meredith attempted to merge with Media General earlier this year, but that deal, too, fell apart.
“Meredith is continually exploring opportunities to add attractive print, broadcast and digital/video brands to its media portfolio,” said a spokesman for Meredith, “but we do not have any comment on any specific opportunities at this time.”