Marc Benioff in Talks to Sell Time Magazine for $150 Million
Time owner Marc Benioff is in talks to sell the magazine to Greek media company Antenna Group, according to a new CNBC report on Friday.
The potential deal would come after Benioff, who made his fortune as the co-founder of Salesforce, bought Time for $190 million in 2018. A deal with Antenna, CNBC reported, would be “centered” around $150 million.
“There is no agreement to sell Time,” A Time spokesperson told CNBC.
In 2018, when Benioff and his wife, Lynne, bought Time from Meredith Corporation, the magazine claimed a combined audience of more than 100 million readers for both its print and online operations, including over 50 million digital visitors. Time celebrated its 101st anniversary earlier this year.
Benioff, who still serves as chief executive of Salesforce, is the 251st richest person on earth, according to Bloomberg, with a net worth of $10.7 billion.
Time, as you might expect a few days before Election Day, has been heavily focused on the presidential race lately. It’s top story on its website on Friday was “How the Electoral College Actually Works,” followed by a story headlined “My Christian Faith Won’t Let Me Vote for Donald Trump or His Disciples.”
Like many media outlets, Time has emphasized its events business more and more under Benioff’s leadership in an effort to increase revenue. The magazine’s media kit says it moved from 10 events in 2022 to 18 events last year, helping it grow “revenue by 55% year-over-year in the process.”
This isn’t the first time Antenna Group has looked to buy a well-known media outlet in recent years. In 2022, the company was interested in acquiring Vice Media, although a deal never came to fruition. CNBC noted most of its media investments are “Europe-centric,” although it has invested in Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Capital.
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