Austin Russell to take majority stake in Forbes Global Media for $800m

Austin Russell has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Forbes Global Media Holdings, a business information brand, from Integrated Whale Media Investments (IWM) for approximately $800 million.

While Austin Russell is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, who is the founder and CEO of self-driving technology firm Luminar Technologies, Integrated Whale Media Investments is a private equity general partner firm based in Hong Kong, which acquired a majority stake in Forbes Global Media in 2014.

Austin Russell will own a stake of 82% in the entity that controls Forbes Global Media upon the closing of the deal, which will bring ownership of the global media platform back to the US.

Austin Russell said: “For over 100 years, Forbes has served as the authority representing success and business news at a global scale, and I’m honored to be selected by the owners as the new steward of the brand.

“Today, success should no longer represent wealth accumulation at any cost, but instead be defined by how value is created and the positive ripple effects it can have.

“My hope is that Forbes can continue to even better serve its readership by helping objectively inform, recognize, and challenge leaders to tackle society’s biggest challenges under this mission, with high quality content as well as platforms for its business-focused community.”

As part of the deal, the Forbes family will divest the remaining stake of Forbes Global Media to a new owner. However, Steve Forbes will continue to be involved in the media company.

The closing of the deal, which is subject to customary conditions, is likely to occur later this year.

In August 2021, Forbes Global Media signed a deal with Magnum Opus Acquisition in an attempt to go public, however, in June 2022, the American business magazine terminated it owing to record revenue and earnings that surpassed the business forecast for 2022.