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Mergers and Acquisitions Media

Meredith to cull 1,200 jobs in 'aggressive execution' of Time Inc acquisition

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By Bennett Bennett | Staff writer

March 21, 2018 | 3 min read

Meredith Corporation, which closed its deal to purchase Time, Inc in January, announced layoffs to 200 of its employees effective immediately, with another 1,000 employees to be terminated within the next ten months.

Meredith

Meredith announces the first in many rounds of layoffs, looking to cut 1,200 employees as well as newly-owned Time

This announcement was part of the media company's "aggressive execution" of its integration plan for the new assets. The integration plan that Meredith announced was four-fold: conducting a portfolio review of all its media assets and divest those not core to its business; improving advertising and circulation performance of the Time Inc. properties to 'industry norms'; growing revenue and raising profit margins on Time Inc. digital properties to Meredith's levels; and achieving annual cost synergies in the $400 million to $500 million range in first two years of operations.

Part of seeing that plan come to fruition came in the form of selling off Time UK and Golf magazine, as well as adtech offering Viant. Another significant step for Meredith to fulfill its integration plans include exploring the sale of Time in the US, as well as Sports Illustrated, Fortune, and Money.

Meredith President and CEO Tom Harty, said: "We have made significant progress executing on these initiatives since we closed on the acquisition just six weeks ago. For example, today we are announcing we have completed our portfolio review and decided to explore the sale of the Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, and Money brands. These are attractive properties with strong consumer reach. However, they have different target audiences and advertising bases, and we believe each brand is better suited for success with a new owner."

Amidst the acquisition process, Essence magazine, then a Time, Inc property, was purchased by Shea Moisture founder Richelieu Dennis and Essence Ventures to become an independently-owned media publication.

Meredith has plans to unveil a new brand-centered sales organization and go-to-market strategy for its media portfolio and digital aspirations. Those plans, the company said will be outlined during all-employee meetings beginning March 28.

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