Commentary from Primack:
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Premium: Time Inc. is hyping the price-tag, given that shares hit an all-time low of $10 back on Nov. 8. But it's also worth noting that Meredith is paying a scant $50 million more than Edgar Bronfman Jr. and Access Industries repeatedly offered to pay one year ago — offers that were rejected out of hand.
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Politics: Meredith says that the Koch investment is passive. No managerial or editorial influence, nor a board seat. And, to be sure, Koch has made plenty of passive, minority investments in the past, including a $2 billion infusion into private equity-backed Infor earlier this year. But when I asked a Time spokeswoman if the Koch passivity was written into the equity commitment letter or any other relevant documents, she told me to call Meredith. Same thing happened when I asked a Koch spokesman. But Meredith has not responded to my repeated inquiries on this point, and I saw nothing about it in the 84-page merger agreement.
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So... I just have a very hard time believing Koch is only in this for the ROI, particularly given all the other financial sponsors who passed. Maybe there will be a data play. Maybe Koch will scoop up an orphaned news brand — yes, divestitures are expected, per a buy-side source — or eventually ask for that board seat it doesn't currently hold.
Submitted November 27, 2017 at 10:42AM by solo_dol0 http://ift.tt/2zIIXgO
