The co-founder of Salesforce.com Inc. Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne have acquired Time magazine from Meredith Corporation for the sum of $190 million. How did SalesForce acquisition of Time Magazine impact its NYSE:CRM stock price?
17 September, AtoZ Markets – On Sunday, the Time’s parent company, Meredith Corporation announced that it had agreed to sell the pre-eminent weekly news magazine to the Benioffs for $190 million. This comes only eight months after Meredith Corporation completed its acquisition of Time Magazine. SalesForce is an American cloud computing giant and with this acquisition, the billionaire CEO of Salesforce and his wife Lynne made a big step into the media sphere.
According to the statement made on Sunday, the Benioffs are buying the media brand personally, as the deal is unrelated to the tech company. Yet, this morning there was a minor drop in NYSE:CRM stock. Commenting on the SalesForce CEO's acquisition of Time Magazine, the Benioffs 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.”
In a statement, Meredith Corp. president and CEO Tom Harty said:
"We're pleased to have found such passionate buyers in Marc and Lynne Benioff for the Time brand. For over 90 years, Time has been at the forefront of the most significant events and impactful stories that shape our global conversation."
Why did SalesForce CEO aquire Time Magazine?
Speaking to the New York Times, Marc Benioff commented that he has been talking with the CEO of Meredith Corporation, since Meredith acquired Time Inc. and all of their assets in November 2017:
"Time is the best fit for us. I really liked the Meredith team, and I definitely wanted to do something with them. It just wasn't clear what it was. When Time emerged as the candidate we all felt it was right. That took nine months to figure out. I was interested in the potential. They are great assets. They are aligned with the impact investing I do. I have a portfolio of almost 200 companies, I have invested in."
When the NY Times asked if Marc Benioff is planning to be involved with the operations or relocation of the Time Magazine's team, the CEO of SalesForce said:
"We don’t get operationally involved in our investments. I’m busy enough with my job. They have a great team. It’s a very strong business. Very profitable.
Meredith will continue to be a key partner going forward."
The Benioffs follow the steps of Amazon CEO Bezos?
However, Mr. Benioff is the latest-but, not the first wealthy tech giant to acquire a media institution. Back in 2013, the founder and chief executive of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, bought The Washington Post, a 140-year-old newspaper.
That acquisition brought the Pulitzer Prize-winning in the crosshairs with U.S. President Trump, who referred to the Post as an “expensive lobbyist” for Amazon.com Inc. According to Forbes, Mr. Benioff, 53, has a net worth of $6.5 billion. As a philanthropist, he has bolstered his reputation as a civic leader and corporate sponsor of public projects in San Francisco, where he is from.
Founded back in 1923, Time magazine has contended with a decline in print media advertising in recent years. However, the magazines continue to reach more than 100 million readers both in printed copies and online.
Salesforce Analysis - NYSE: CRM Stock Drops
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