Time Out Seeking Cash to Fuel Expansion Plan

Tony Elliott has big plans for Time Out.

The founder of the weekly city magazine chain has hired an investment bank, San Francisco's Houlihan Lokey, to raise $40 million to $60 million in capital through the sale of a minority stake in his company. According to three sources, Elliott intends to use the money to expand the Time Out brand to six new American cities: Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle and Miami. (Right now, its only U.S. editions are New York and Chicago.) Because the new editions would be web-only, at least at first, the target markets don't have to meet Time Out's usual criteria of a well-defined downtown area and a large base of mass-transit commuters who frequently pass by newsstands.

Elliott is said to be talking to a variety of potential strategic and financial investors. Gruner & Jahr, which sold off its American magazine holdings in 2005, is still in the mix, while IAC/InterActive Corp. has dropped out on the ground that it generally avoids minority investments.

Elliott is said to be pushing to close the deal and launch the new editions within the next six months. Alison Tocci, Time Out's president and group publisher, didn't return a call for comment.