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Meredith Bid for Time Inc. Said to Be Backed by Koch Brothers

Earlier talks this year between Time Inc., the publisher of People and Sports Illustrated, and the Meredith Corporation fizzled out.Credit...Mario Tama/Getty Images

Time Inc. is said to be in talks to sell itself to the Meredith Corporation, in a deal backed by Charles G. and David H. Koch, the billionaire brothers known for supporting conservative causes.

Talks between Time Inc., the publisher of Time and People, and Meredith, the publisher of Family Circle and Better Homes and Gardens, fizzled this year. The new round of negotiations, motivated by the surprise entry of the Kochs, could lead to a quick deal, according to people involved in the discussions.

The Kochs have tentatively agreed to back Meredith’s offer with an equity injection of more than $500 million, the people with knowledge of the talks said. A spokesman for the brothers’ business, Koch Industries, declined to comment on Wednesday.

Time Inc. also declined to comment. Meredith did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The companies have been negotiating over the past several days, and Meredith is reviewing the latest Time Inc. financial information.

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The billionaire David H. Koch in 2014. He and his brother Charles G. Koch are prominent backers of conservative causes and candidates.Credit...Carlo Allegri/Reuters

Although it is unclear whether the proposed deal will reach fruition, both sides hope to move quickly enough to be able to announce a transaction soon after Thanksgiving.

The talks are part of the third known attempt by Meredith to purchase Time Inc. In 2013, a deal collapsed when the two publishers could not agree on which magazines Meredith would buy. At the time, Meredith reportedly did not want to acquire four of Time Inc.’s best known titles: Time, Fortune, Money and Sports Illustrated.

Earlier this year, Meredith was said to have been among parties interested in buying Time Inc. Those discussions ended when Time Inc. said it did not want to sell itself.

An obstacle that stalled negotiations earlier this year was Meredith’s inability to secure sufficient financing from banks. With the addition of the Kochs, with their deep pockets and apparent desire to make themselves players on the media landscape, that problem could vanish.

It is not clear how much influence — if any — the Kochs would have on a Meredith-owned Time Inc. if the deal were to go through.

The discussions come during a challenging time for magazine publishers, many of which are trying to remake themselves as multimedia entities. Time Inc. has lately shifted its focus away from its print magazines as it seeks to attract a sizable digital audience and pursue new opportunities for revenue growth.

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The headquarters of the Meredith Corporation in Des Moines. Talks between Meredith and Time Inc. fizzled out this year, but are said to be renewed.Credit...Mary Chind/The Des Moines Register

The latest talks between Meredith and Time Inc. show the Koch brothers’ willingness to give their media ambitions another shot after they explored purchasing the Tribune Company in 2013.

Founded in 1922 by Henry R. Luce, Time Inc. was at one point among the most influential and authoritative voices in American magazine publishing, with offices overlooking Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall. Through Time and Life magazines, it chronicled the ups and downs of a nation through stellar photography and weekly updates on news, sports and culture.

Koch Industries operates oil refineries in various states and has a hand in numerous other businesses. According to Forbes, it is the second-largest privately operated company in the United States, second only to Cargill, with annual sales revenue of more than $100 billion.

Charles and David Koch have made hefty donations to various civic and arts organizations, including Lincoln Center, the American Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Longtime libertarians, they are also prominent backers of conservative causes and candidates. In 1979, David Koch ran as the vice-presidential candidate on the 1980 Libertarian ticket (with Ed Clark at the top of the ticket).

The brothers have continued to influence politics through a Koch-funded nonprofit conservative advocacy group founded in 2004, Americans for Prosperity. In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, the group spent more than $720 million to bolster conservative policy positions and candidates.

Wilbur L. Ross, the commerce secretary, was the main speaker at an Americans for Prosperity gathering in August in Richmond, Va. At the time, The New York Times reported that the Koch brothers — once skeptical of President Trump — had moved closer to him, inspired, in part, by his plans to overhaul the tax code.

A correction was made on 
Nov. 16, 2017

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misidentified the speaker at an Americans for Prosperity event in August. It was Wilbur L. Ross, the commerce secretary, not Vice President Mike Pence.

How we handle corrections

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section B, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: Koch Brothers Said to Back Meredith Bid For Time Inc.. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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