Luminar founder and CEO Austin Russell’s bid to acquire Forbes Global Media Holdings has ended. Integrated Whale Media Investments, the Hong Kong-based parent company of Forbes, terminated the deal with Russell after failing to secure the ideal group of investors required to close the deal.
Bloomberg was the first to report the news, citing an internal memo from Forbes CEO Mike Federle.
“The acquisition of Forbes was about impact and advancing the philosophy of business-for-good and philanthropy with the next generation of capitalism,” reads a statement provided by Austin Russell’s family office. “At this juncture, it was determined that it was in the best interest of the parties to terminate the contract. We wish nothing but the best to the Forbes team.”
Russell, the 28-year-old founder and tech star, announced in May that he plans to buy an 82 percent stake in Forbes Global Media Holdings in a deal that values the company at nearly $800 million. The intention, which was initially successful, was to attract some investors to support the takeover. The deal was set to close on Nov. 1 but collapsed after Indian investment firm Sun Group and others failed to deposit contractually obligated money, Axios reported earlier this month. Sun Group vice chairman Shiv Khemka had reportedly committed to invest $300 million in the acquisition.
Russell received an extension on the deadline and has spent the last two weeks trying to make up the multimillion-dollar shortfall. In another aspect, an updated agreement sent to Russell’s camp contained terms to the investor group that were described as untenable, according to sources familiar with the deal.
Forbes, a media company perhaps best known for its magazine and lists of billionaires, sold 95% of the company to Integrated Whale Media in 2014. Forbes Media had planned to go public through a merger with the buyout firm special purpose vehicle Magnum Opus Acquisition Limited, but canceled the deal in June 2022.
Forbes has since been for sale. Russell — who was described by Forbes itself in 2021 as the the world’s youngest self-made billionaire — was the latest example of a tech mogul entering the media business. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post in 2013, and Salesforce chairman, CEO and co-founder Marc Benioff, along with his wife Lynne Benioff, acquired Time from parent company Meredith Corporation for $190 million in cash in 2018. Most recently, Elon Musk bought Twitter in a tumultuous deal that resulted in the social networking site changing its name to X.
