Forbes Media

Forbes Media is a publishing, branding, and technology company that specializes in business news and information, investing, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, and affluent lifestyles. The company publishes Forbes, Forbes Asia and Forbes Europe magazines, and includes a website Forbes.com. The audience covered by the Forbes brand has over 94 million people worldwide. Forbes' business information reaches a global audience through its magazines and 36 regional licensed publications worldwide, the Forbes.com website, television, conferences, research projects, social media and mobile platforms. Brand extensions that complement Forbes Media's core applications include conferences, real estate, education, financial services, and technology licensing agreements.

History

2023

The deal to sell Forbes to a group of investors broke up, possibly due to the participation of Magomed Musaev

In November 2023, it became known that the sale of the international Forbes will not take place. The magazine reported that buyers were unable to meet the terms of the deal on time. The Washington Post previously wrote about the behind-the-scenes role of the publisher of the Russian Forbes Magomed Musaev, but the businessman himself denies this.

The sale of global Forbes will not be completed because buyers "could not close the deal," the magazine's press service said. The public representative of the group of investors who claimed 82% of the company was 28-year-old billionaire and co-founder of Luminar Technologies Austin Russell. When the businessman announced his intention to buy Forbes for $800 million in the spring, questions were already being raised about why the developer of self-driving car lidars was one of the most famous business publications in the world. In October, The Washington Post responded to them - the newspaper claimed that the shadow buyer was the publisher of the Russian Forbes Magomed Musaev.

According to WP, citing court documents, in 2016 Musaev became something of a business angel for Russell, investing $20 million in the young Luminar and becoming the second external investor in the startup. Back in the summer, the planned sale of Forbes attracted the attention of the US Congress, and two influential senators called on the Ministry of Finance to check the real beneficiaries of the deal.

Allegations about Musayev's role were circulated by WP, citing recordings of his private conversations. According to the newspaper, in the summer at a party in New York on the occasion of his 60th birthday, the businessman allegedly called Russell the "face" of the deal and boasted of imminent control over the "most authoritative global brand." Musaev himself then told the publication that this was "absolute nonsense" and he did not invest in the deal and was not going to. Russell said that "not a single dollar" would come from Russian or Chinese investors to buy Forbes.

Billionaire Austin Russell signed an agreement to buy an 82% stake in Forbes for $656 million

On May 21, 2023, billionaire Austin Russell, founder and CEO of Luminar, announced an agreement with Hong Kong-based Integrated Whale Media Investments (IWM) to acquire a controlling stake in Forbes Global Media Holdings.

As part of the deal, Forbes Global Media Holdings, which controls the American financial and economic magazine Forbes USA, is valued at approximately $800 million. Russell will receive an 82% stake in the holding. Thus, the value of the transaction amounted to $656 million. Russell will not participate in the company's day-to-day operations, the statement said. Under the terms of the contract, Forbes Global Media Holdings will form a new board of directors, consisting of leading American specialists in the field of information technology and artificial intelligence, as well as media representatives. IWM will retain one seat on the board along with the remaining minority stake.

Austin Russell

The official report said the Forbes platform is profitable and is actively expanding thanks to several areas - from real estate to financial services. The deal will help transform the company into a technology business, which is expected to help accelerate growth in the current macroeconomic environment. It is planned to complete the transfer of assets at the end of 2023 after obtaining the necessary permits from regulatory authorities and subject to other standard requirements.

For more than 100 years, Forbes has served as an authority representing success and business news on a global scale, and I am honored to be elected by its owners as the new brand manager. I hope Forbes will help leaders address society's most pressing issues with high-quality content as well as business-focused platforms, "Austin Russell said.[1]

2022: Binance becomes one of Forbes' two biggest owners

In February 2022, it was announced that Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is investing $200 million in Forbes.

That would make Binance one of Forbes' two biggest owners. The proceeds will help Forbes become a public company through a SPAC deal that will list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "FRBS." The cryptocurrency company will also win two board seats out of nine.

The move signals the growing influence of the cryptocurrency sector, the sector's first major investment in traditional American media ownership.

2021: Talks over possible going public through merger with SPAC or sale to investors

Forbes Media LLC in April 2021 is negotiating a possible exit to the stock exchange through a merger with a SPAC company.

Forbes Media is also in talks with the investment company Borderless Services, which is ready to buy the publication for $700 million, and with a consortium of investors led by investor Michael Mo (GSV Ventures).

The latest options suggest the company will remain private.

The deal could see Forbes change ownership seven years after Hong Kong investor group Integrated Whale Media Investments took a 95% stake in the company. The remaining Forbes is owned by the Forbes family.

The company is undergoing a digital transformation amid declining print revenues. She redoubled efforts to expand key franchises. According to the company, its digital platform at this time covers more than 140 million people with 40 global publications.

2018: Using AI to sketch articles

In early January 2019, Forbes magazine began testing an AI tool for sketching articles that highlights the threads of the narrative. The program operates on the basis of the Bertie semi-automatic recommendation system (content management system), which issues written hints based on previous work by journalists. Read more here.

2014: Sale of the company to a Hong Kong-based foundation

In July 2014, it became known that the American publishing house Forbes Media agreed to sell a controlling stake in its shares to a group of international investors to accelerate the global growth of the company.

The report notes that the Forbes family will still remain the owner of a "significant" stake. The buyer of the other part of the shares will be a specially created investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments, led by Hong Kong Asset Management Limited. Another major investor will be the Singapore corporation ASUSTeK Computer^[2].

invest in the Forbes brand, history, family involvement and management team that have built a successful company. Forbes Media is built around the brand, which in turn is synonymous with success, "said Tak Cheng Yam, head of Asset Management Limited

The amount and terms of the transaction were not disclosed, it is expected that it will be closed until the end of 2014. Deutsche Bank will act as financial adviser to the transaction.

Business in Russia

Шаблон:Main 'Forbes Russia

Notes