Forbes Media headed to the market?

Posted Sep 24th 2007 12:25PM by Tom Barlow
Filed under: Magazines, Marketing and Advertising, Media World, Initial Public Offerings

According to an article in yesterday's New York Post, the Forbes family-owned media business may come onto the market within the next two years, either as a direct sale or in an IPO. Last year, the family formed Forbes Media, including the namesake magazine web site, and affiliated properties, and sold off a minority chunk of it to the Bono-led private equity firm Elevation Partners. That deal was rumored at $250-$300 million for a 40%+ stake.

Forbes has done better than most in transitioning to the internet, pulling in over 12 million visitors to its web site per month, according to Compete.com, very near the readership of the Wall Street Journal web site. According to the Post, Forbes Media is currently valued at around $750 million, meaning half-a-billion dollars of equity could be up for grabs.

The move would be consistent with the family's ongoing divestiture of Forbes assets. In July, it announced the intention to sell the Manhattan headquarters that long served as Forbes headquarters. The building was not part of the Elevation Partner's purchase. It is expected to bring as much as $140 million.