Time Inc. to sell majority stake in Essence

at Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on February 23, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California.

Time Inc. wants to sell off its majority stake in Essence.

This is the first move for the company since it announced back in April that it would not be selling the entire company despite the fact that it has been struggling in the wake of declining circulation and lower print advertising rates. However, it looks like Time wants to hand over the reigns, a move that the Wall Street Journal noted could ultimately be good for the magazine and allow it to grow.

“We want to unlock the value here,” Time Inc. CEO Rich Battista told the Wall Street Journal. “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.”

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According to the report, Time hopes to have a deal by the end of the year.

In the meantime, according to the Wall Street Journal, the company will be focusing on its “core assets and core areas of growth,” such as People, InStyle and Time, though Battista insisted that Essence is still considered to be part of that “core” despite the move to sell off the majority stake to a different company.

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