Hong Kong investor group buys majority stake in Forbes Media

A Hong Kong-based investor group is buying a majority stake in Forbes Media, with plans to help accelerate the brand's expansion beyond its media roots to education, financial services, real estate and technology licence agreements.

The buyer, Integrated Whale Media Investments, is a newly formed group of international investors led by Tak Cheung Yam, chairman of Integrated Asset Management, and Singapore-based Wayne Hsieh, co-founder of Asustek Computer, one of the world's leading personal computer vendors.

The deal was announced late last night for an undisclosed amount, but a Bloomberg report placed a US$475 million valuation on the group. Expected to be completed sometime later this year, the transaction will see private equity firm Elevation Partners fully exit Forbes. In 2006, the PE firm bought a 45 per cent stake for about US$265 million. The Forbes family will retain a sizeable share of the business, the announcement said.

Forbes had been searching for a buyer for about a year. A leaked management note to prospective buyers last year - which reportedly included Fosun International, Singapore's Spice Global Investments and German publisher Axel Springer - said it expected to generate US$21 million in profit on sales of US$145 million.

"Our transaction will enable us to maintain and speed up the editorial momentum of recent years. It will also rapidly expand the extension of the Forbes brand into promising areas such as education, financial services, real estate and technology licence agreements," he wrote.