The recent acquisition of the publishing portfolio of American Express Co was one step for magazine publisher Time Inc to prepare for a spin off early 2014.

In March this year, Time Warner Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Bewkes said that Time would be separated from the New York-based multinational media corporation as it has been the division who showed the worst performance. The conclusion was arrived after Time Warner's failure for Time to launch a joint venture with Ladies' Home Journal publisher Meredith Corp. Efforts for the said venture were unsuccessful. It also took Bewkes four months to source and hire a chief executive for the CEO-less Time. The CEO position is now helmed by Joseph Ripp.

In an announcement today, the largest magazine publisher in the US said it has recently acquired the publishing portfolio of American Express Co. Time acquired several titles including Food & Wine, Travel & Leisure, Departures, Black Ink and Executive Travel. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

In a note today to employees addressing to the acquisition, CEO Ripp said, "I am very excited about the possibilities for expanding these world-class brands, along with the rest of our portfolio, as we prepare to become an independent company."

Bloomberg's compilation of analysts' estimates in July indicated that the enterprise value of Time was between USD2.7 billion to about USD4.9 billion.