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Former Warner Music Group Chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr. and former Maker Studios Chief Executive Ynon Kreiz approached publisher Time Inc. about a takeover in recent months, according to a person familiar with the matter.
With the backing of Len Blavatnik's Access Industries, Bronfman and Kreiz floated an offer price of about $18 a share, but the New York-based magazine publisher rebuffed the overture, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. That proposal would have represented a 30 percent premium over Time Inc.'s closing price Friday of $13.80.
Bronfman and Kreiz are on the board of Warner Music Group, which is controlled by Blavatnik's Access Industries.
The approach for Time Inc. comes as the legendary glossy-magazine publisher is trying to reinvent itself for a digital world. The company, which owns Sports Illustrated and Travel & Leisure, along with Fortune, is also reorganizing how it sells advertising, aiming to boost revenue by creating more custom content for sponsors and making it easier for marketers to buy ads across its magazine portfolio. Such ads — promotional content that's designed to look like editorial articles and videos — have become the lifeblood of digital media companies like BuzzFeed and Vice Media.
Spokesmen for Time Inc. and Access Industries declined to comment.
The New York Post reported earlier Monday on the buyout bid for Time Inc.