Home Politics Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and wife Lynne to buy Time magazine

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne Benioff are buying Time magazine from Meredith Corp. for $190 million in cash, the latest example of a tech mogul acquiring a major news publication.

Meredith Corp., which purchased Time Inc. nine months ago, said in a statement the transaction is expected to close within 30 days.

“The Benioffs are purchasing TIME personally and the transaction is unrelated to Salesforce.com, where Mr. Benioff is Chairman, co-CEO and founder,” the statement said. “Mr. and Mrs. Benioff will not be involved in the day-to-day operations or journalistic decisions, which will continue to be led by TIME’s current executive leadership team.”

The Salesforce CEO will be in good company in tech industry circles. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos acquired the Washington Post for $250 million five years ago, and Laurene Powell Jobs, via her Emerson Collective, took a majority stake in The Atlantic last year.

Marc Benioff acknowledged the news, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, on Twitter.

“The power of Time has always been in its unique storytelling of the people & issues that affect us all & connect us all,” he tweeted. “A treasure trove of our history & culture. We have deep respect for their organization & honored to be stewards of this iconic brand.”

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