Historic Black Women’s Essence Magazine Returns Back to The Community with Black Ownership Again

Essence Communications Inc.is back in the hands of black owners. The 48-year-old multiplatform brand that owns Essence magazine and the annual Essence Festival, been acquired by Essence Ventures LLC, an independent African-American-owned company, which was founded and is chaired by Liberian-American Richelieu Dennis, who also is the founder of SheaMoisture.

As reported earlier by Journal-isms for The Root, the Essence brand was not part of the historic, nearly $3 billion sale of Time Inc. to the Meredith Corp. in November 2017.

The brand was looking for another buyer and has apparently found one with Essence Ventures, which was founded and is chaired by Liberian-American Richelieu Dennis, who also is the founder of SheaMoisture.

“[W]e are excited to be able to return this culturally relevant and historically significant platform to ownership by the people and the consumers whom it serves, and offer new opportunities for the women leading the business to also be partners in the business,” said Dennis of the Essence brand acquisition.

“This acquisition of Essence represents the beginning of an exciting transformation of our iconic brand as it evolves to serve the needs and interests of multigenerational black women around the world in an even more elevated and comprehensive way across print, digital, e-commerce and experiential platforms,” said Ebanks. “In addition, it represents a critical recognition, centering and elevation of the black women running the business from solely a leadership position to a co-ownership position.”