Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP) finalized the sale of the Sports Illustrated brands and license to operate the fabled Sports Illustrated print magazine to Authentic Brands Group for $110 million.
As part of the deal, Authentic Brands will acquire all Sports Illustrated associated brands including Sports Illustrated, Sports Illustrated Kids, Sportsperson of the Year, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, SI and SI TV. The transaction doesn't include the FanSided digital platform, which Meredith is currently in the process of selling.
Authentic Brands also acquires the rights to Sports Illustrated's two-million-strong archive of owned photography.
Proceeds from the sale will be used to pay down debt, Meredith said in a statement. With the sale of Sports Illustrated, Meredith will have paid approximately $900 million of debt by June 30, the company said.
Meredith acquired Sports Illustrated as part of its purchase of Time Inc. on January 31, 2018. As part of that deal, Meredith announced it would sell off certain Time news and sports brands. This past September, it agreed to sell Time for $190 million to Marc Benioff, co-founder of Salesforce.com, and his wife, Lynne Benioff.
Said Meredith official Jon Werther, "We are delighted to find a great home for Sports Illustrated with ABG, one of the world's premier brand owners and licensors.
"Additionally, we are excited about the opportunity to fully integrate Sports Illustrated's print and digital products into Meredith's operations. We believe our proven expertise in content creation and sales and marketing will greatly enhance the vitality and profitability of these channels."
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