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Once read by America's business elite, Fortune magazine, which covered the 1929 stock market crash and developed the Fortune 500 corporate rankings, will soon be owned by Chatchaval Jiaravanon, executive chairman of Thailand’s largest conglomerate.
Meredith Corp., which acquired the 88-year-old business magazine with its acquisition of Time Inc., sold Fortune for $150M.
The all-cash deal is to be completed by the end of the year.
Fortune editor-in-chief Clifton Leaf is remaining in his post, as will president Alan Murray, who will also become CEO.
Most of the magazine’s staff will continue to work in New York City, and Murray told the Wall Street Journal that a search for new office space is underway.
The magazine saw a 26 percent drop in ad pages for the first nine months of 2018 vs. 2017, with conferences and digital now accounting for 62 percent of its total revenue. Jiaravanon said that he plans to up Fortune’s investment in “digital capabilities, geographic expansion and editorial talent.”
Jiaravanon is executive chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group, Thailand’s largest conglomerate, with holdings in telecommunications, food, retail, automotive, finance and pharmaceuticals.
“Our vision is to establish Fortune as the world’s leading business media brand,” Chatchaval said in a statement from Meredith. “With further committed investment in technology and brilliant journalism, we believe the outlook for further profitable growth is excellent both for the publication and the events business.”
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