The auction for Time Inc. — owner of Time, People and Sports Illustrated — is in the homestretch with bids due next week.

The wild card in the race is the bid by Jahm Najafi, a part owner of the Phoenix Suns in a joint bid with Pamplona Capital, first reported by the Wall Street Journal Friday.

One Time Inc. investor speculated that those private equity players are “fronting” for another interested party with media experience. Who that could be remains unknown.

Meredith Corp., owner of Better Homes and Gardens, Shape and Martha Stewart Living plus local TV stations, appeared to be the lead candidate last week after a triumvirate of well-heeled investors — Edgar Bronfman Jr., Ynon Kreiz and Len Blavatnik — dropped out of the auction. That trio was reportedly interested in bidding at least $18 a share but did not want to go beyond $20, sources said. Meredith is said to be primarily interested in the monthly titles such as Cooking Light, Real Simple, etc., and not the weeklies.

There is also said to be another publicly traded firm — which has yet to be disclosed — in the hunt.

Time’s stock on Tuesday closed at $19.10 a share, down 10 cents.