Time Warner is in talks to sell a large portion of its Time Inc. magazine division, including People, InStyle and Real Simple, according to a report Wednesday afternoon by Fortune.Headed for Meredith, Berkshire Hathaway or nowhere new after all?Fortune is itself a Time Inc. magazine but reported that it isn't part of the deal being discussed. Neither is the flagship Time or Sports Illustrated, Fortune said. People is a huge profit center and the crown jewel in the portfolio.A spokesman for Time Warner declined to comment. Spokeswomen for Time Inc. and BDT Capital Partners, a bank reportedly involved in the talks, did not immediately return calls.Speculation immediately turned to the identity of the potential "serious buyer" mentioned but not named in the article. Former Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons once told a "town hall" meeting of 400 staffers about a conversation he'd had with Warren Buffett."As your friend, don't do that, it's a good business," said Mr. Buffett, according to people who heard Mr. Parsons tell the story. "But," he added, "if you do sell it, sell it to me."A media investment banker, however, argued that getting Time Warner to sell its magazine portfolio in pieces would probably require a little extra incentive -- while Mr. Buffett tends to look for bargains. "These are the premier brands in the world in magazine publishing, and to split them up is surprising," said Reed Phillips, CEO at DeSilva & Phillips. "I would've thought they would've wanted to... Continue reading at 'Crains New York'
[ Crains New York | 2013-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]