Sunset Magazine Is Sold to a California Private Equity Firm

  • 6 years ago
Sunset Magazine Is Sold to a California Private Equity Firm
“A lot of other magazines don’t have the emotional feel you get with Sunset,” said the buyer, Michael Reinstein, whose firm also owns a string of history
and military publications, including Wild West Magazine and Army Times, as well as a luxury salon business and other holdings.
Sales of Essence, Golf and Time Inc. UK are also being brokered, said Jill Davison, a spokeswoman for Time Inc.
Sunset’s editor, Irene Edwards, broke the news to the staff of about 30 on Thursday.
The sale was in play before this week’s surprise announcement of a publishing deal in which the Meredith Corporation, which owns titles like Better Homes
and Gardens and AllRecipes, said it would buy Time Inc. in a deal valued at nearly $3 billion.
Time bought Sunset in 1990 from William and Melvin Lane, members of the family
that had scooped up the little magazine as the Great Depression loomed and turned it into a standard-bearer for Western gardeners and those pursuing the art of California living, complete with patio parties, car camping and the skillful use of an outdoor grill.