Time Warner weighs sale of magazine titles

Time Warner Inc., whose media business spans television, film and print, is considering the sale of most of its magazines to Meredith Corp., the publisher of Better Homes and Gardens, a person familiar with the talks said Wednesday.

Under the terms being discussed, Meredith would acquire all but three of Time Warner's magazine titles, according to the person, who asked not to be named. Time, Sports Illustrated and Fortune would remain with Time Warner, the person said.

Meredith, based in Des Moines, is more interested in titles such as People, Real Simple and InStyle that fit with its magazines aimed at women, according to the person.

The sale would let Time Warner offload part of its worst-performing major division, helping insulate the company from an industrywide slump in advertising sales. The Time Inc. unit, currently the largest U.S. magazine publisher, has struggled to shift from print to the Internet, where ads command lower rates.

Time Inc., led by chief executive Laura Lang, said last month that it would eliminate 500 positions, or 6 percent of its workforce, as newsstand sales and advertising continued to decline. The company's publishing revenue fell 6.6 percent last year to $3.44 billion.

Keith Cocozza, a spokesman for Manhattan-based Time Warner, declined to comment to Bloomberg News, as did Art Slusark, a spokesman for Meredith.

Time Warner shares rose 0.67 percent to $52.85 Wednesday. The stock has climbed 10 percent this year.

The company's television business, which includes HBO and other cable networks, has been generating most of its growth.

In splitting off some of its print operations, Time Warner would be following in the footsteps of News Corp., the media company controlled by billionaire Rupert Murdoch. News Corp.'s publishing business, which lost $2.1 billion in fiscal 2012, will be spun off as a separate company later this year.