2023-05-15 03:19:55 ET
Austin Russell, founder and CEO of Luminar ( NASDAQ: LAZR ) and Hong-Kong based Integrated Whale Media Investments (IWM) to acquire majority ownership in Forbes Global Media.
The transaction values Forbes at ~$800M. Mr. Russell will hold an 82% interest in the entity that controls Forbes. IWM will also keep one board seat in conjunction with their retained minority stake.
All capital for the acquisition has been fully committed and independent of Mr. Russell's stake in Luminar ( LAZR ).
As part of the transaction, the remaining stake of Forbes owned by the Forbes family will be acquired by the new owner. However, Steve Forbes will remain involved in the company.
Mr. Russell will act as a visionary for the brand, and will not be involved in its day-to-day operations.
“When IWM acquired Forbes in 2014, our vision was to keep the legendary brand as a strong force in the media world, fully accelerate Forbes to digital, and leverage the strength of the brand to create new revenue streams. We were able to achieve our goals. Now, we are excited to pass the torch to someone who we believe can catapult Forbes’ legacy to even greater heights with his authentic vision to create a new era of capitalism, backed by one of the most recognizable business brands in the world. We believe there is significant opportunity for value growth with the new vision and, as a result, we will be retaining a minority stake. We look forward to the next chapter of the Forbes growth story.” said Jeffrey Yam, MD of Integrated Capital.
Transaction completion is expected to occur later this year.
For further details see:
American innovator, Austin Russell to acquire majority stake in Forbes