Storied newsweekly Time
magazine has turned another page, announcing a deal late Sunday that it has been acquired by Salesforce founder-CEO Marc Benioff.
Benioff and his wife Lynne are paying $190 million
to buy the title from Meredith Corp., which acquired parent Time Inc. for $1.8 billion less than a year ago.
The deal is expected to close within 30 days, according to The
Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news.
“The power of Time has always been in its unique storytelling of the people & issues that affect us all
& connect us all,” Benioff confirmed int a tweet Sunday night, adding: “A treasure trove of our history & culture. We have deep respect for their organization & honored to be
stewards of this iconic brand.”
Time magazine, which was founded by Henry Luce in 1923, became the flagship of the world’s biggest and most powerful magazine
publishing company -- Time Inc. -- during the heyday of the magazine publishing industry.
Following its acquisition, Meredith almost immediately began signaling plans to divest of
the title.
Reactions in social media were generally positive, with some likening it to Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos’ personal acquisition of The Washington Post.
How the Benioff family will manage Time magazine remains to be seen. Benioff is known to be a Democrat who supported Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid.
The
debut issue of Time was published March 3, 1923.
