A look at the history of Meredith Corporation in Des Moines, Iowa
Meredith, one of Des Moines’ oldest major employers and a leading corporate citizen, is set to become part of media mogul Barry Diller’s IAC / Interactive Corp. Here is an overview of the history of the company:
1902
Edwin Thomas Meredith, who runs an agricultural journal, sets up the business in Des Moines to publish Successful Farming magazine.
1922-24
Meredith begins publishing Fruit, Garden and Home magazine, which becomes Better Homes and Gardens.
Following:Sale of Des Moines-based Meredith Corp. to become part of Barry Diller’s IAC
1946
Meredith makes her first public share offer.
1948
Company buys its first television channel, WHEN-TV in Syracuse, New York
1965
Meredith is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the name MDP.
1969
Meredith / Burda printing partnership formed with the Burda family from Germany.
1978-1992
Meredith launches several magazines, including WOOD and Midwest Living, and purchases KVVU-TV in Las Vegas.
1996
Meredith inaugurates the expansion of the head office at 1615 Locust Street in Des Moines.
1998
The headquarters building is finished. Meredith launches MORE magazine and sells her real estate service Better Homes and Gardens.
2002
The company celebrates its 100th anniversary.
2004
Stephen Lacy is elected President and Chief Operating Officer.
2005
Acquires the family circle, parents, child and physical form; launches Siempre Mujer magazine.
2007
Meredith announces an agreement with Walmart to create and market Better Homes and Gardens branded home products.
2011
Meredith acquires EatingWell and Every Day with Rachael Ray magazines.
2012
Meredith acquires the FamilyFun brand, Allrecipes.com and ShopNation. He begins talks with Time Warner about buying Time Inc., but Time Warner instead splits the company.
2013
Meredith acquires Parenting and Babytalk brands; launches Allrecipes magazine.
2014
Meredith acquires four television channels, including KMOV-TV in St. Louis; secures license rights for Martha Stewart Living Magazine and marthastewart.com; and acquires Mywedding.com.
2015
Meredith announces a deal that will be bought by Media General, based in Richmond, Virginia. Media General later pays Meredith to withdraw from the deal after agreeing to be taken over by television giant NexStar Broadcasting Group.
2017
Meredith announces the acquisition of Time Inc. for $ 2.8 billion.
2018
The Time Inc. case is over. Meredith begins layoffs and prepares to sell Time Inc.’s Time, Fortune, Money and Sports Illustrated titles while keeping magazines like People and Real Simple that better fit her consumer lifestyle.
2021
Meredith announces in May that she will sell her TV channels to Gray Television for $ 2.7 billion. On October 6, it confirms that it will be acquired by IAC / Interactive.