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Sports Illustrated sold for $US110m

Publisher Meredith Corp has sold for $US110 million ($A159 million) the intellectual property around the venerable sports-news outlet Sports Illustrated to Authentic Brands Group, the brand-development company that manages Nautica, and elements of the Muhammad Ali and Elvis Presley estates.

Meredith took on Sports Illustrated as part of its purchase of Time in January 2018 for $US1.85 billion plus debt.

Under terms of the deal, Authentic Brands acquires the rights to market, develop and license Sports Illustrated and its kids' edition as well as its swimsuit and Sportsperson of the Year franchises, along with the magazine's photo archive.

Meredith will pay a licensing fee to operate the editorial operations of Sports Illustrated in print and in digital for a minimum of two years. Editor Chris Stone and Publisher Danny Lee will continue to lead Sports Illustrated at Meredith.

"We felt this was the best outcome for the brand, and gave it the greatest future growth potential," says Jon Werther, president of Meredith's national media group.

With the new pact as a foundation, he says, Meredith can move to sell ads for Sports Illustrated along with its other media holdings.

The company had kept the magazine separate from its other properties because of its hopes for a sale. Meredith has no plans to change the magazine's frequency or the circulation.

The brand's new owner expects to forge into new areas.

Jamie Salter, founder, chairman and CEO of Authentic Brands, envisioned possibilities ranging from Sports Illustrated medical clinics and sports-skills training classes to a gambling business and better use of the magazine's vast photo library.

Known since 1954 as a gold standard for sports journalism, Sports Illustrated has over the years vied with an array of upstarts, most notably Walt Disney's ESPN, which was able to create a TV-and-video business for sports coverage that SI's previous owner, Time Warner, was not.

The sale moves Meredith close to the end of its effort to sell various Time assets, once some of the biggest media brands in the sector.

Meredith has sold Time and Fortune to entrepreneurs, while folding Money's print operations.