Meredith Corporation inked a $190-million definitive agreement to sell its media brand Time to Salesforce.com Inc.’s founders Marc and Lynne Benioff. The deal, which is expected to close within a month, is subjected to customary closing conditions. This move comes after the recent decline in print advertising and newsstand sales.

 

The proceeds from this deal will be used to reduce the company’s debt by $1 billion during fiscal 2019. Going forward, Meredith anticipates net debt-to-EBITDA ratio to be 2 to 1 or better by fiscal 2020.

 

According to the company, Time will continue to operate under its executive leadership team. Per the deal, Meredith will provide short-term business continuity services. Also, the company has entered into an accord with the Benioffs under which it will provide subscription fulfilment, consumer marketing as well as paper purchasing along with printing services.

 

Earlier, Meredith acquired Time, Inc. in January 2018. But soon the company announced plans to sell Time news and sports brands — TIME, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and MONEY — in a bid to focus on its core brands. The sale of these magazines are expected to wrap up soon. 

 

The company recently offloaded Meredith Xcelerated Marketing to Accenture and Time Inc. UK to Epiris in order to focus on core operations. Meredith is also exploring options for sale of its equity investment in Viant. Apart from this, the company concluded a sales restructuring plan and implemented a new go-to-market strategy as part of its advertising and marketing initiatives.  

 

All said, we believe that the above-mentioned initiatives will fuel growth and provide some respite to the stock. Incidentally, this Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) stock has gained 1.4% year to date, significantly underperforming the industry’s growth of 11.4%.

 

 

 

 

British Sky Broadcasting Group, PLC. has a long-term earnings growth rate of 13% and carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

 

Entravision Communications Corp. (EVC Quick QuoteEVC - Free Report) , with an impressive earnings surprise history, carries a Zacks Rank #2.

 

Townsquare Media, Inc. (TSQ Quick QuoteTSQ - Free Report) has long-term earnings per share growth rate of 4.5% and a Zacks Rank #2.

 

 

Zacks Research has released a report that may shock many investors. One stock stands out as the best way to invest in the surge to electric cars. And it's not the one you may think! 

 

Much like petroleum 150 years ago, lithium battery power is set to shake the world, creating millionaires and reshaping geo-politics. Soon electric vehicles (EVs) may be cheaper than gas guzzlers. Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge. With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply, revenues that were already at $31 billion in 2016 are expected to blast to over $67 billion by the end of 2022.