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By being massaged Sunday night, the West Coast technology billionaire explained by SMS why he was entering the East Coast media industry with the acquisition of Time Inc.'s flagship publication.
Marc Benioff, general manager of software publisher Salesforce, and his wife, Lynne, said Sunday they had agreed to buy Time magazine from Meredith Corporation for $ 190 million in cash.
Mr. Benioff answered several questions about the SMS agreement on Sunday night. Slightly edited extracts follow.
Q. It would be faster on the phone.
A. Hard to believe but … I am in massage. (Mr. Benioff writes a graph of a man under a towel with cucumbers on his eyes.)
Where did you have the idea to buy time?
I've been talking with Meredith's C.E.O since he's bought Time Inc. on all of his assets.
Why?
I was interested in the potential. These are great assets.
You have not shown much interest in the media before, right?
They are aligned with the impact I am making. I have a portfolio of nearly 200 companies in which I have invested.
You wanted to buy Twitter at one point.
My investors have turned against me. I loved it (Twitter). Love (general manager of Twitter) Jack (Dorsey) too.
Why did not you buy Fortune Magazine?
Time is the best solution for us.
I really liked the Meredith team and I absolutely wanted to do something with them. It was not clear what that was. When the time appeared as the candidate, we all felt that it was good. It took nine months to understand.
If Meredith did not buy Time Inc., it would never have happened. Meredith is the key player.
You will soon be 54 Do you have dreams to realize?
I live with a beginner's mind. I had not realized two weeks ago that I was going to buy Time.
(Mr. Benioff writes a screenshot of a quote from Zen master Suzuki: "In the mind of the beginner, there are many possibilities, in the spirit of the world. expert, there are few. ")
My power was that I did not really want to do anything, but I was open to all possibilities.
Do you want to move Time magazine to San Francisco?
No, it'll stay in New York. I will not get involved on an operational level. We are not operationally involved in our investments. I am pretty busy with my job. They have a great team. It's a very strong affair. Very profitable
Meredith will continue to be a key partner for the future.
Will you be spiritually involved?
I think our values are aligned. Confidence is my highest value and time too.
I thought that journalism was the greatest value of Time. Did you read Time as a child? Or an adult?
Yes, I've always liked that.
Do you hope that the interviews in Time magazine are more in-depth?
"I decided that I can only be myself. Everyone is caught. – Oscar Wilde.
Thank you for your time. How is the massage?
Paulene is amazing. Let me know if you want his number.
Learn more about Time Inc. and Marc Benioff
David Streitfeld has been writing about technology and its effects for twenty years. In 2013, he was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Report.
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