Behind Time Inc. Purchase of American Express Publishing Lies a Long History

By CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY

After a two-decade-long relationship between the magazine giant Time Inc. and American Express, Time Inc. plans to close quickly on its purchase of American Express’s publishing division.

“This 20-year courtship is finally being consummated in matrimony,” said Ed Kelly, president and chief executive of the American Express Publishing Corporation. He joked in a phone interview that after such a long engagement, there was no reason to delay the wedding; Time says it expects to close the deal by Oct. 1. On Tuesday, both companies announced that Time Inc. would buy for an undisclosed sum all of American Express’s publishing titles, which include Food & Wine and Travel & Leisure READ THE FULL ARTICLE