China-backed Hong Kong blank cheque company buys Forbes Media in deal that values publisher at US$630 million
- Forbes Global Media Holdings is the publisher of Forbes magazine and a closely watched list of the world’s billionaires
- China Investment Corp, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, owns 5.8 per cent of Magnum Opus Acquisition based on US regulatory filing
A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) backed by China’s sovereign wealth fund is taking over the American publisher of Forbes magazine in a deal valued at US$630 million.
Magnum Opus Acquisition, based in Hong Kong, will merge with Forbes Global Media Holdings, according to a statement overnight. Forbes would list on the New York Stock Exchange after the transaction, where existing shareholders will own 22 per cent of the combined company.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter or the first quarter of 2022 and is subject to approval by Magnum Opus’s shareholders. Forbes would continue to be lead by its existing management, including its chief executive Mike Federle.
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Magnum Opus is backed by an affiliate of L2 Capital, a private investment firm founded last year by Jonathan Lin, a former managing director at Point72 Asset Management; Frank Han, a former senior principal at the Blackstone Group; and Kevin Lee, a former investment director in the venture capital arm of Hong Kong family office investment firm Gallant Investment Partners.
China Investment Corp (CIC), the sovereign wealth fund with more than US$1 trillion of China’s foreign-currency reserves under management, owns 5.8 per cent of the SPAC, a stake valued at about US$11.3 million, according to a recent US regulatory filing.
