After a rough week for morale over at Time Inc., bids are due today for its Time4Media and Parenting groups of magazines. A quick recap and guide to sorting through what could become a confusing sale:

• Last fall, Time Inc. announced it would sell its Time4Media and Parenting groups as part of a restructuring effort to downsize by roughly 1,000 jobs.
• At the American Magazine Conference in Phoenix in October, Time Inc. CEO Ann Moore referred to its magazines as her “children” — 149 of them.
• Russell Denson, former president of Gruner + Jahr, was in Phoenix as a potential bidder.
• First rounds bids were due the same week.
• Time Inc. announced the slashing of 289 jobs.
• Second round bids were due today.
• Folio: reports the groups could be sold seperately or to a total of three buyers, and that bids may be for significantly less than the $250 million Time Inc. had hoped: “I expect they’ll get $200 million for everything (Parenting and Time4Media combined) … They’ll probably get $100 million or even below for the Time4Media group.”
• WWD says Time Inc. will “eventually narrow the field down to two to four serious bids of more than $200 million each.”
• The bidders for whole or part include: Active Interest Media and Apprise Media; Bonnier; CurtCo; Denson; former Time Inc. executive vice president Jack Haire; Bono, Roger McNamee and Elevation Partners; Knot CEO David Liu; Falconhead Capital; and former Wenner Media executive Kent Brownridge.
• Folio: also says InterMedia Partners, a private equity firm run by Leo Hindery, who founded the YES network, is the favorite in the Time4Media sweepstakes.

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