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What happened
Shares of Time Inc. (TIME) rose 24.6% in November, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The surge rested on a single-day jump of 15% near the end of the month, as the magazine publisher reportedly rejected a $2 billion buyout offer.
So what
According to separate reports from Bloomberg and The New York Post, former Time Warner Music chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr. led a consortium of private investors to present an all-cash bid of roughly $19 per Time share. The same offer had reportedly been presented once before, and Bronfman's group insisted that repeating the bid would be a generous move in the light of crumbling business results.
Now what
It is not blindingly obvious what Bronfman hopes to gain from taking control over the Time stable of publishing brands. Since separating from the larger Time Warner (TWX) media conglomerate in the summer of 2014, Time's trailing sales have slipped 8% lower while the company's free cash flows turned negative.
The media mogul might have some radical change of plans in mind, or maybe it's just a run-of-the-mill leveraged buyout play. Either way, investors saw signs of life in a suffering stock -- even if Time's board of directors wasn't impressed by Bronfman's ideas.
Share prices have stayed close to the elevated levels of late November, leaving room for another 20% jump if that $19 offer comes around again.
