As a Texan by birth and an unabashed fan of country music, I've always enjoyed Willie Nelson's rendition of his hit song, "Funny How Time Slips Away." It now seems, however, that a new version of that ditty might be about to be cut by Dick Parsons, Time Warner Communications'
Indeed, I'm picking up consistently louder rumblings that the company may be considering divesting its Time, Inc. magazine publishing arm, and the unit that, at least from a historic perspective, is its foundation. But time marches on. Gosh, I can't believe I said that. And with print publishers of both newspapers and magazines generally struggling to retain subscribers and stem their sliding advertising revenues, magazines may no longer fit in with Time Warner's other units.
So while Carl Icahn's demands for a breakup of the company may not have been accomplished in his desired timeframe, I still think it's likely that, a couple of years down the road, Time Warner could be a radically different entity than it is today. Consider the evidence: The AOL dialup access unit, which actually acquired Time Warner in the early years of this decade and subsequently fell on hard times, now appears to be regaining its health, thanks to a successful new advertising-based revenue model. It seemingly could now be capable of generating sales interest.
And in March, 16% of Time Warner Cable
In media, as in several other sectors, the deal activity has escalated of late. Take, for instance, Rupert Murdoch and News Corp.'s
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Fool contributor David Lee Smith does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned. He welcomes your questions or comments. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
