Cooley and Debevoise & Plimpton have won the top roles on Time’s $2.8bn sale to Meredith Corporation.

Debevoise advised the target Time Inc, the media company that owns brands such as Country Life, Fortune, NME and Time.

The firm fielded a team led out of the US, with New York partners William Regner and Michael Diz working with the company. Regner is co-head of M&A for the firm.

Partners Lawrence Cagney, Jeffrey Cunard and Peter Furci provided executive compensation, corporate IP and tax advice respectively. Antitrust partner Gary Kubek and corporate partner Scott Selinger were also involved.

Cooley represented the buyer Meredith Corporation and its team was led by Washington DC partner Kevin Mills.

Partner Mike Tollini provided credit finance advice, with partner Howard Morse working on antitrust. A total of six US offices were involved in the transactions, as well as in London.

To finance the transaction, media company Meredith has secured a total of $3.5bn from RBC Capital Markets, Credit Suisse, Barclays and Citigroup Global Markets.

It has also secured $650m in preferred equity commitment from Koch Equity Development (KED), run by the US billionaire Koch brothers. Jones Day advised KED.

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018, with Time CEO Rich Battista expected to leave the company once the sale is completed.

Background to the deal

Time Inc has a historic relationship with Debevoise & Plimpton, with its partner Michael Gillespie providing advice to the company on various M&A transactions.

However, it has also sought advice from other corporate US firms, including Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, which worked on its $12bn merger with Warner Communications in 1990 and defence against Paramount Communications’ takeover bid. Time Warner completed its spin-off from Time Inc in 2014, with the former becoming a target last year of AT&T.

Time Inc’s in-house operations are led by general counsel Lauren Ezrol Klein, a former associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

Cooley has also advised Meredith Corporation on transformational deals, with Mills representing it on its 2015 merger with Media General. The firm’s relationship with the client dates back to 2013 when it merged with Washington DC boutique Dow Lohnes.