After 12 years of seizing control of Essence Communications Partners, Time Inc. is now planning to sell its majority stake in the company by the end of this year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
This is the first move for the company since April. That month, it announced that it would not be selling the entire company. This is despite the fact that it has been struggling, in the wake of declining circulation and lower print advertising rates.
The WSJ has said that Time Inc is now moving to focus on its “core” brands. These include People, InStyle and Real Simple, and TIME.
“We want to unlock the value here,” Time Inc. CEO Rich Battista told WSJ.
“We think the best way to do that is to bring in a strategic partner with investment capital. We’re keeping an interest because we see real upside.”
WSJ seems to think that TIME giving up their majority stake in Essence is a good idea. They feel that it will allow the African-American women’s lifestyle publication room to grow. One can only hope that a black investor, with good intentions, will come forward and help to push the publication further.