A major publishing proposal has fallen through that would have helped an Iowa-based media giant to grow even larger. Meredith Corporation has been in talks with Time-Warner on a deal to buy most of its 21-magazine publishing division, including People, In-Style, Southern Living and Entertainment Weekly.

Officials with Meredith, headquartered in Des Moines, now say the deal is off. Time-Warner has decided to spin off its entire Time Inc. subsidiary into a separate publicly-traded company.

The division was said to be worth about $3.4-billion dollars a year. Meredith, already publishes popular titles like Better Homes & Gardens, Family Circle and Successful Farming.