Prediction: Meredith will sell Fortune magazine

Leon Lazaroff of The Deal writes that Meredith Corp., which is buying the Time Inc. magazine business, will sell Fortune magazine because it doesn’t fit into its portfolio of publications.

Lazaroff writes, “Yet despite Lacy’s insistence that the fate of the three iconic titles has yet to be decided, industry observers have all but assumed that Meredith will look to sell them.

“It’s important for Meredith at this point to stay true to what they’re good at, and not try to turn these brands around when that’s not their expertise,” said Reed Phillips III, managing partner at boutique media investment bank Oaklins DeSilva & Phillips LLC. “No doubt that Meredith will flip those.”

As the publisher of dozens of magazines including Family Circle and Better Homes & Gardens, Meredith has long coveted Time’s female-focused publications, especially People. In the coming weeks, Lacy said Meredith will study its expanded magazine portfolio to determine which of Time’s titles might be divested.

“One of the most important things that we will need to do, and we’ve done this at other times, is really [look at] the duplication between the different properties in terms of audience and where in fact does the ad revenue come from,” Lacy said on an investor conference call.

Read more here. A subscription is required.