Sunset magazine, the West Coast-centered lifestyle publication and forebear to the current deluge of food and lifestyle media, is changing ownership amid its parent company Time Inc.’s own acquisition.
Time Inc. announced on Thursday that Sunset, which is based out of Oakland’s Jack London Square, is switching hands to Regent, a private equity firm out of Beverly Hills.
With this shift to new management — its fourth in over 120 years — about five staff members will be laid off as the publication pivots its focus on events and digital media.
“As a native Californian, I am honored to take the mantle as the fourth owner of this iconic and beloved institution,” Michael Reinstein, Regent’s chairman, said in a statement. “For almost 120 years Sunset has been the definitive, pioneering voice of the promise, hope, values and innovative spirit of the West.”
This acquisition comes days after Time Inc. was purchased by Meredith Corp., the Midwest media group that counts among its properties Better Homes & Gardens. Meredith Corp. made the nearly $3 billion deal in part with equity funneled in by Koch Industries, the corporation largely owned by Charles and David Koch.