Time Magazine sold to its founder, Marc Benioff, for $ 190 million

The proposed sale should be completed within 30 days. Benioffs buy time as individuals; the agreement is not related to Salesforce.com, where Mr. Benioff is also president and co-chief executive.

In an interview, Mr. Benioff said, "We are investing in a company that has a huge impact on the world, an activity that is also incredibly strong. This is what we are looking for when we invest in family. "

The Benioffs are optimistic about the size of Time's audience and the growth of the video business. "The power of time is its unique story of people and issues that affect us all and connect us all," said Ms. Benioff.

Nevertheless, the couple will resume a publication whose activity was thwarted by the continuing decline in print advertising and newsstand sales. Many magazines have struggled to make the transition to the first digital businesses as traditional sources of income have deteriorated. The Benioffs said they would have no role to play in the daily operations of the magazine or in journalistic decisions. Mr. Benioff stated that the family does not intend to acquire any other Meredith magazine titles.

The Benioffs are the last rich of the technological world to buy a traditional publication. In 2013, Jeff Bezos, General Manager of Amazon.com Inc., purchased the Washington Post. Last year, Laurene Powell Jobs, wife of the late Steve Jobs, acquired a majority stake in Atlantic magazine through her organization, the Emerson Collective.

"What they all share in common is that they believe in journalism," said Robin Steinberg, media consultant.

Salesforce, a cloud computing software company whose products are aimed at businesses, is competing with competitors such as

Oracle
Corp.

and

Microsoft
Corp.

The company recently promoted Keith Block President and Chief Operating Officer as co-CEO alongside Mr. Benioff.

Mr. Benioff has long been a socially activist cadre. On several occasions he has spoken out against state efforts to restrict the rights of homosexuals. He and his wife are also leading philanthropists.

The agreement is an indispensable boost for Meredith, the publisher of titles such as People, Better Homes & Gardens and Magnolia Journal. Meredith has released four Time Inc. publications in March: Fortune, Time, Money and Sports Illustrated.

The sales process was prolonged, reflecting the gap between what Meredith thought the securities were worth and what investors were willing to pay at a time when the magazine industry is under pressure.

Negotiations continue for the proposed sale of Fortune, Money and Sports Illustrated.

"For more than 90 years, TIME has been at the forefront of the most important events and compelling stories that shape our global conversation," said Tom Harty, Chief Executive Officer of Meredith, in a statement. "We know that TIME will continue to succeed and is in good hands with the Benioffs."

The sale marks a new chapter for a magazine that has been one of the most powerful political and cultural forces in the country, with its red border covers being synonymous with the most important events of the week. Special issues, such as his annual personality of the year, and Time 100 magazine, an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, have become independent media events in their own right.

"Time has a resonance because it has always presented a very American point of view," said Richard Stengel, former editor of the magazine. "It was about providing analysis, breaking new ideas, perfecting and perfecting techniques."

Mr. Stengel expressed his confidence that the publication will survive, compared to "a classic waterfront property".

Under Time Inc., the magazine sought to reduce printing costs while investing in digital opportunities. According to the Alliance for Audited Media, time has significantly reduced its circulation to 2.3 million for the six months ended June 30, compared to 3 million a year earlier.

At the same time, he tried to expand his digital reach. Time.com's audience reached 31.7 million unique multiplatform visitors in July 2018, up from nearly 27.4 million in July 2015, according to the media measurement company.

comScore
Inc.

A long-time observer said that new homeowners will have to decide how often the print edition should be published and how it could adapt to readers increasingly accustomed to shorter and more focused news stories.

"They will have to provide more information in less time and in less space," said Samir Husni, director of the University of Mississippi's Innovation Center Magazine.

Launched by Yale graduates Henry Luce and Briton Hadden, Time went on sale for the first time in March 1923 with a sale price of 15 cents. Its circulation amounted to 9,000 copies, according to a story written by Robert T. Elson.

The magazine introduced the biggest stories of the day in the country's salons, with reports on Ho Chi Minh in 1954, a look at candidate John F. Kennedy in 1960 and a profile of director Spike Lee earlier this year.

"For a long time, being on the cover of Time magazine was the ultimate seal that you were at the center of American consciousness," said Robert Thompson, professor of media and popular culture at Syracuse University.

Thompson said Time's online presence does not have the same ability to attract attention in an ocean of competing sources of information. However, he argues that time always offers value to help consumers understand the 24-hour cycle.

"We've done a lot to transform this brand over the last few years so it's way beyond a weekly magazine," Time's editor Edward Felsenthal said in an interview.

Meredith does not disclose detailed financial data for magazine titles, nor does Time Inc. disclose.

In a note to staff members, Mr Felsenthal said the Benioffs had already challenged the publication to think long and long term. "What will the weather look like in 2040? What will it mean for people for decades to come?

Write to Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg at [email protected]