Ian Osborne, a British consultant and investor, is working with a group of investors that wants to buy the business magazine Fortune, reports Peter Kafka of Recode.
Kafka writes, “Time Inc. employees are murmuring hopeful things about a deal with Osborne’s group, but I don’t know how advanced Osborne’s conversations with Meredith are. Alan Murray, the Meredith executive who has been overseeing Fortune, Time and the other titles Meredith is selling off, says Meredith is in talks with multiple bidders for Fortune and that he doesn’t think a deal will go through until the end of the year.
“Murray wouldn’t comment on Osborne or any other bidder, but did make a point of knocking down a report that another consortium, which includes motivational speaker Tony Robbins and billionaire Dan Gilbert, was in ‘final negotiations’ to buy Fortune, Money and Sports Illustrated.
“Time/Meredith executives tell me it is very likely that Sports Illustrated will be sold separately from Fortune and Money; it’s not clear whether Fortune and Money will be sold together.”
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