US Economic Magazine Forbes Abandons SPAC Listing Plan and Pursues Sale

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Forbes, the American economic magazine that abandoned its plan to go public through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) last May, is now proceeding with a sale process.

The New York Times reported on the 2nd (local time) that Forbes has hired Citibank as the lead advisor for the sale and is pushing forward with the business sale.

According to sources, Citigroup recently delivered a report explaining Forbes' financial status to media companies including Yahoo. According to the report, Forbes recorded over $200 million in revenue and more than $40 million in net profit last year.

Sources stated that Forbes is seeking a minimum sale price of $630 million.

Previously, Forbes had pursued a public listing through a SPAC, but as enthusiasm for SPAC investments cooled and it became difficult to get a fair price, it terminated the contract with Magnum Opus SPAC last May.

The Times explained that economic media has been popular in the market over the past few years.

Private equity firm Apollo Management acquired Yahoo, which owns Yahoo Finance, for $5 billion last year. Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal under News Corp, also acquired Investor's Business Daily last year. Earlier, in 2017, digital media company Red Ventures acquired financial information provider Bankrate for $1.4 billion.

Forbes was founded in 1917 and is currently published eight times a year. After the Forbes family sold most of their shares in 2014, Integrated Whale Media Investment, headquartered in Hong Kong, became the largest shareholder owning 95% of the shares. The Forbes family retains the remaining 5%.

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