The CEO of an Automotive Technology firm, Austin Russell, said that he is investing roughly $800 million to acquire the bulk of Forbes Global Media Holdings.
The 28-year-old founder of Luminar Technologies, which creates sensors and software for safety and autonomous driving features, Austin Russell, claimed to have reached an agreement to purchase an 82% interest in Forbes. His acquisition completes a protracted sale procedure and includes the remaining share of the business owned by the family that gave it its name.
As the media sector struggles to adapt to the shift from print to online publication, Mr. Russell joins the roster of affluent startup entrepreneurs who have purchased news publishing organizations in the past ten years.
According to a statement from Mr. Austin Russell, Forbes‘ parent company, Hong Kong-based Integrated Whale Media Investments, will keep a small ownership share in the more than 100-year-old publication. The corporation is lucrative, according to those with knowledge of the situation.
“Forbes is something I have always looked up to as a brand and as a media empire,” said Mr. Russell, a young self-made billionaire who had been featured in Forbes’ “30 Under 30” section.
Rather than getting engaged in Forbes’ daily operations or news coverage, Mr. Russell said he intends to concentrate on fostering the company’s expansion and putting a strong emphasis on charity.
Forbes, which is well-known for its billionaires list and yearly feature on young business leaders, has relied more and more on a contributor network in recent years. Additionally, it has expanded its commercial operations and now has an advertising-supported media company, a group for events, an affiliate marketing division that generates money when readers take particular actions or make purchases, and a division for branded enterprises that has the Forbes name under license.
Forbes will appoint a new board made up of American media, technology, and artificial intelligence specialists, according to Mr. Russell. According to Mr. Russell’s announcement, Steve Forbes, who is now the chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, will continue to be active in the business, and Integrated Whale Media will retain its minority share and one board position.
When the Forbes family sold a controlling interest to Integrated Whale Media in 2014, they lost control of the business.
After canceling a deal to go public through a special-purpose acquisition company in June of last year, Forbes started the current selling procedure.
Other affluent business and technology executives who have made investments in media firms include Salesforce co-founder Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne Benioff, who purchased Time Magazine in 2018, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who bought the Washington Post in 2013. In the same year, Fortune was bought by Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon and the Los Angeles Times by biotech investor Patrick Soon-Shiong.
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