CBS selling its magazine group

CBS Inc., which has been restructuring its operations since a boardroom coup last year, said Monday it will sell its magazine group for $650 million to a group that includes the unit's president and other senior officers. In announcing the sale, CBS management said it was committed to enhancing the operations of its core businesses, broadcasting and recordings, and that it remained interested in expansion and potential acquisitions in these businesses.

CBS Magazines, whose president is Peter Diamandis, is the smallest of the company's three groups. In the recently- reported second quarter, it had profits of $6.1 million on revenues of $100 million.

The group's magazines include Field and Stream, Modern Bride, Road and Track, and a variety of other special interest consumer magazines and publications. In a controversial $362.5 million deal, CBS purchased 12 titles in 1984 from Ziff-Davis Publishing Co.

The company has been focussing on improving profitability at its broadcasting operations since Laurence Tisch took over as chairman last September after the boardroom coup. In October, CBS sold its educational and professional book publishing division to Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc. for $500 million.