Washington, Mar 7 : Time Warner is spinning off its Time Inc. magazine division, making it an independent, publicly traded company. The news came from Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, who said the spin-off should be completed by the end of 2013, reports CNN.

Time Warner is the parent company of CNNMoney. Rumours had it that magazine publisher Meredith (MDP) was in talks to buy most Time Inc. titles. Meredith confirmed those discussions after news of the spin-off. Time Inc., the number-one magazine publisher in the U. S., publishes titles including People, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and Money.

People is said to be the world''s most profitable magazine. Time Inc. CEO Laura Lang is leaving the company after only about a year on the job. Time Inc. has been without a consistent leader in recent years, with three changes at the top since the departure of Ann Moore in 2010. Lang''s predecessor, former Meredith executive Jack Griffin, famously held the CEO spot for only a few months before being ousted.

The spin-off comes at a difficult period for both Time Inc. specifically and print journalism as a whole. In the past three weeks alone, the New York Times announced its intent to sell The Boston Globe, and the parent company of Reader''s Digest filed for bankruptcy.

Magazines have struggled to survive in the fast-paced world of online news, with ad revenue and subscriptions declining rapidly. Time Warner has used spin-offs before as a strategy to boost value, with two successful spin-offs in 2009: AOL and Time Warner Cable. (ANI)