Keith J. Kelly

Keith J. Kelly

Media

Verizon could be the mystery company in on Time Inc. sale

Verizon is rumored to be the public company that is hanging around the hoop on the Time Inc. sales process — waiting to see if it can top any deal for the publisher of People, Time, Sports Illustrated and InStyle.

And as the sales process drags on, the specter of a proxy fight also hangs over the company.

Activist shareholders have until Friday to put forth a slate of board candidates. The annual meeting is in June.

Meredith and a joint venture of Pamplona Capital/Najafi Cos. are the two entities that have been most prominently mentioned as suitors for Time Inc. — but sources close to the situation have been saying all along there is one other undisclosed public company in the mix.

Several stockholders say they believe that company is Verizon, which already owns AOL and is putting the finishing touches on a $4.4 billion purchase of Yahoo — expected to close in late June.

Time Inc. and Verizon both declined to comment.

If a Verizon bid comes to pass, there will be more than a little irony. AOL and Time were together when Time Warner merged with AOL in 2000 in what is widely seen as one of the most disastrous mergers of all time.

Time Warner spun off AOL in 2009, and AOL was subsequently acquired by Verizon in 2015. Time was spun off from Time Warner in 2014.

Meredith, still regarded as the No. 1 Time Inc. suitor, is believed to be trying to keep a price below $20 a share.

“I hope [Time Executive Chairman] Joe Ripp is not going to walk away from a transformative deal because of a $100 million difference in the ask and bid,” one Time shareholder said.