The ever-shifting media landscape looks as if it might be hit with another tremor before long. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, citing “people familiar with the matter,” storied magazine publisher Time (NYSE: TIME) has drafted a pair banks to help it evaluate buyout and partnership offers from outside parties. The two banks are Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, the report said.
The article comes shortly after reports appeared in other media that a consortium of investors, headed by onetime Time Warner Music chairman Edgar Bronfman, offered $18 to $20 per share in cash for the company. Time apparently turned down the offer, which would have been worth as much as $2 billion in total. That per-share price range represents a premium of at least 30% on Time’s closing stock price the day before those reports were published.
Neither Time nor the two mentioned banks have yet commented on the Journal‘s article.
Time has not been a stellar performer since being spun off from former parent Time Warner in June 2014. Its revenue has eroded, while in three of its previous five quarters it has posted net losses. Despite a recent uptick due to the takeover speculation, its share price is 15% lower than on the day it hit the stock exchange as an independent entity. By contrast, its former parent has taken off — Time Warner stock has risen by nearly 35% across that same stretch of time.
The Journal article stressed that, despite the potential investor interest and the hiring of the banks, there is no guarantee a sale will ultimately occur.
10 stocks we like better than Time
When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*
David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Time wasn’t one of them! That’s right — they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.
Click here to learn about these picks!
*Stock Advisor returns as of Nov. 7, 2016
Eric Volkman has no position in any stocks mentioned.
{loadposition user99}