Meredith Corp. shareholders approved the sale of the Des Moines-based media company's broadcasting division Tuesday — a transaction that clears the way to complete what the company said will be the sale this week of of its magazine holdings to New York tech conglomerate IAC/Interactive Corp.
The Des Moines Register reports a majority of shareholders voted in favor of the $2.8 billion deal with Gray Television during a closed meeting, Meredith announced in a news release. Gray will take over Meredith's 17 local TV stations, including channels in major markets like St. Louis, Kansas City, Missouri, and Atlanta, Gray's hometown.
Meredith will spin off its magazine division into a separate company, which IAC/Interactive will buy for $2.7 billion. IAC/Interactive will combine Meredith's division with an IAC-owned online publisher, Dotdash, to form Dotdash Meredith, with headquarters in New York.
Meredith said in a news release that executives expect the IAC/Interactive sale, which does not require shareholder approval, to close Wednesday. The company did not immediately disclose how many shareholders approved the Gray sale.
Former studio executive Barry Diller formed IAC/Interactive as a tech incubator that cultivates Internet companies and spins them off into separate entities. Some of IAC/Interactive's recent successes include the video streaming site Vimeo and the online dating company Match Group, owner of Tinder and OKCupid.
IAC/Interactive executives told investors in October that the purchase of Meredith's magazines gives them the ability to inject their tech expertise into publications with decades of name recognition. Meredith's titles include marquee brands like Better Homes and Gardens, People, Entertainment Weekly, Southern Living and Food & Wine.
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