At the end of August it became known that the world famous financial publication Forbes, founded in 1917, is preparing to go public. It is noteworthy that the company, which has existed for the second century, is owned by the founding family by only 5%. Hong Kong-based Integrated Whale Media Investments (IWMI) acquired a majority stake in Forbes in 2014. As a result of the transaction, Forbes was valued at $ 414 million. Currently, IWMI has increased its stake to 95% of the shares. Forbes is well known for its rankings of the richest people in the world. For example, the company annually prepares lists of business leaders in various categories, such as Forbes Billionaires, Forbes Global 500, Forbes 30 Under 30, and Forbes Celebrity 100.
Forbes’ main business is focused on selling more than 40 periodicals, among the most famous are ForbesWomen, Forbes Travel Guide, Forbes Asia and about fifteen regional publications. The company also makes money by providing investment and financial advisory services such as Fox and various radio stations. At the moment, according to Forbes, the company reaches an audience of 150 million people around the world through various media channels. In order to keep up with modern trends, Forbes is actively developing digital channels. The company says more than 80 million customers visit online platforms every month. Forbes is diversifying its business by expanding its coverage in other areas such as real estate or education. Forbes also hosts over 100 ForbesLive conferences a year.
The first news of Forbes going public appeared last year, but it turned out to be just rumors. In May of this year, it became known that the company was in talks with GSV Asset Management on a $ 650 million deal, but later it turned out that Forbes still intends to go public through the IPO mechanism. At the end of August, it became known that Forbes was preparing to go public through SPAC, a merger with Magnum Opus Acquisition Limited, which was listed in March this year at an estimate of $ 200 million under the ticker OPA.U. During the deal, Forbes is to receive a private investment in public equity (PIPE) in the amount of $ 400 million, and the indicative valuation of the new company after the merger will be $ 630 million.
The deal is likely to close at the end of Q4 or early Q1 2022. Following the completion of the merger, Forbes’ new ticker will be FRBS. We are positive about the impact of the deal on the company’s business profile, since after the merger, Forbes will raise capital to further develop its business under the iconic brand. The implementation of a differentiated content generation strategy and the development of a digital media space will help the company scale its business on the global stage.