The FORTUNE brand is going to be sold by Des Moines, Iowa-based Meredith Corporation for $150 million in cash to Fortune Media Group Holdings Limited — which is a company owned by Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon. This deal will be completed following regulatory approval.
Meredith became the owner of the FORTUNE brand in January after acquiring Time Inc. for $2.8 billion. And Meredith indicated at the time of the acquisition that it had plans to sell some of the publications that were absorbed as part of the acquisition. In late September, Meredith sold Time Magazine to Salesforce.com founder Marc Benioff for $190 million. And it is likely that Meredith will sell Sports Illustrated and Money next.
Fortune sells to Thai businessman for $150 Millionhttps://t.co/tEwyvBaUVA
— FORTUNE (@FortuneMagazine) November 9, 2018
“We’re pleased to have found FORTUNE a great home with Chatchaval Jiaravanon. His dynamic leadership will enable the iconic FORTUNE brand to grow. We thank the FORTUNE team for their diligent work and wish them continued success,” said Meredith President and CEO Tom Harty.
Jiaravanon is also affiliated with Charoen Pokphand Group (C.P. Group) — which is a global company owned by the Chearavanont/Jiaravanon family. Charoen Pokphand is a global company involved in media, telecommunications, retail, pharmaceuticals, and investments. The acquisition of FORTUNE is a private investment and Jiaravanon will not be involved in the publication’s day-to-day operations.
Clifton Leaf will remain as the editor-in-chief at Fortune going forward. And Alan Murray is going to become President and CEO of FORTUNE. “I am pleased that we have found an owner for FORTUNE who believes in our mission, values our editorial independence, wants to invest in our journalism, and thinks FORTUNE can be the leading brand providing business insight and information around the world. Watch this space: we will be doing big things in the future,” said Murray in a statement.
Along with being involved with C.P. Group’s technology, media, and telecommunications business, Jiaravanon serves as a Board Member of True Corporation — which is a public company in Asia with more than $10 billion in assets, $4 billion in revenues, and 23,000 employees.
“Our vision is to establish FORTUNE as the world’s leading business media brand, with an always-on reach and global relevance,” explained Jiaravanon. “The demand for high quality business information is growing, and with further committed investment in technology and brilliant journalism, we believe the outlook for further profitable growth is excellent both for the publication and the events business.”
Fortune was founded in 1930 and it evolved from a traditional print publication into a multimedia business with a digital news and video platform that reaches 20 million people per month. The Fortune brand is especially known for its Fortune 500 list along with the 100 Best Companies to Work For, 40 Under 40, and the Change the World list.
