Salesforce founder Marc Benioff buys Time magazine for $190m
Salesforce founder Marc Benioff and his wife are buying Time Magazine in a $190m (£145m) cash transaction.
Benioff, whose personal wealth is estimated at $6.7bn, and his wife Lynne are buying the iconic brand from current owner Meredith Corporation in a personal purchase unrelated to Benioff’s sales software company.
The billionaire couple won’t be involved in “the day-to-day operations or journalistic decisions”, Meredith said.
In a statement, the couple said: "We are honored to be the caretakers of one of the world's most important media companies and iconic brands.
“Time has always been a trusted reflection of the state of the world, and reminds us that business is one of the greatest platforms for change."
The magazine’s current executive leadership team will remain in place, with editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal staying in charge of the brand.
"On behalf of the entire Time team, we are very excited to begin this next chapter in our history," he said. "We can't imagine better stewards for Time than Marc and Lynne Benioff.
“The team is inspired by their commitment to high-quality journalism and by their confidence in the work we have done to transform and expand the brand in new directions."
Meredith, which will use the sale to reduce its debt, has agreed a multi-year deal to continue to offer consumer marketing, subscription fulfillment, paper purchasing and printing.
Its own purchase of Time only closed in January this year, shortly after which Meredith opted to sell its news and sports brands – Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and Money – to focus on its core readership of American women.
The publisher hopes to find buyers for Time’s remaining assets soon.
The Benioffs’ purchase is expected to close within 30 days.