Marc Benioff in Talks to Sell Time Magazine to Greek Media Conglomerate Antenna Group: Report

Billionaire tech entrepreneur Marc Benioff is reportedly negotiating the sale of Time magazine to Antenna Group, a major Greek media conglomerate.

According to CNBC, Benioff, co-founder of the enterprise software giant Salesforce, whose net worth is estimated at $10.7 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has entered talks with Antenna about selling the iconic magazine.

Sources familiar with the negotiations told CNBC that Benioff, who purchased Time in 2018 for $190 million, is considering a $150 million offer from Antenna Group.

Benioff acquired Time from Meredith Corp., which owned the magazine for less than a year before selling it to him. The potential sale would mark a significant shift in ownership for the publication, which has struggled with declining print ad revenue and circulation.

In recent months, Benioff has been vocal about his frustrations with certain political figures. Last month, he expressed dissatisfaction after Vice President Kamala Harris declined multiple requests for an interview with Time. Benioff pointed out that former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden agreed to interviews during their respective campaigns.

“Despite multiple requests, TIME has not been granted an interview with Kamala Harris—unlike every other Presidential candidate,” Benioff tweeted.

Time It also made headlines in September when it excluded Elon Musk from its list of the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence, sparking a debate over the magazine’s editorial choices.

Antenna Group, which has been expanding its presence in the American media market, previously attempted to acquire Vice Media in 2022, but the deal collapsed when the company filed for bankruptcy.

Like many legacy publications, Time magazine has been facing challenges as print advertising and newsstand sales continue to decline. At its peak in the 1970s and 1980s, Time had a circulation of over 4 million copies, surpassing competitors like Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report. By 2012, circulation had fallen to 3.3 million. Today, the magazine has approximately 1.6 million subscribers.

Founded in March 1923 by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden, both Yale University graduates, Time has been trying to navigate the digital age but has struggled to transition from print to digital revenue successfully.

Since Benioff’s acquisition, Time has continued to seek new ways to adapt. However, the publication has faced two consecutive y