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Steve Forbes (centre), chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, and Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, at the Forbes@100 Light-up Ceremony at InterContinental Hong Kong in 2017. Photo: Jonathan Wong

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.

“With this transition into a publicly traded company, Forbes will have the capital to accelerate growth by executing its differentiated content and platform strategy and fully realise the potential of our iconic brand,” Federle said in a statement.

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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.

A copy of the Vietnamese version of Forbes magazine. Photo: AFP

“Forbes has expansive reach and is successfully broadening and deepening engagement through data informed content curation that delivers what each Forbes user cares most about,” Magnum Opus chief executive Lin said. “The strategy fits perfectly with Magnum Opus’s strategy to support enterprises leveraging digitalisation to craft more tailored user experiences, and big data analytics to create a positive feedback loop and multiple touchpoints with consumers.”

The 104-year-old Forbes has more than 450 employees worldwide and reaches more than 150 million people worldwide with 45 licensed editions covering 76 countries, according to the company’s website.

In 2014, the company agreed to sell a majority stake to Integrated Whale Media Investments, a Hong Kong-based investor group led by Yam Tak-cheung, chairman of Integrated Asset Management.

“Now, it is time for the next exciting chapter in the Forbes narrative, one in which we are happy to remain involved as a significant investor and partner with the world-class institutional and strategic investors at Magnum Opus,” Yam said.

To complete the deal, Magnum Opus will raise US$400 million in additional private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing.

The deal follows digital media company BuzzFeed agreeing to go public via a SPAC in a deal that would value it at US$1.5 billion in June.

SPACs have been one of the hottest fundraising trends since the beginning of 2020, raising nearly US $122 billion this year alone, according to SPAC Analytics, a research firm focused on these investment vehicles.

Fundraising by blank-cheque companies has slowed somewhat in recent months after a blistering start to the year, but SPACs remain popular among Asian sponsors and target companies.
SPACs are created purely to raise financial war chests and buy assets within a limited period of time. In recent days, DayDayCook, a recipe hub founded by former HSBC banker-turned-online influencer Norma Chu, Singapore’s PropertyGuru and Tim Hortons China have all agreed to go public in the US through these vehicles.

Credit Suisse and the law firm Kirkland & Ellis are advising Magnum Opus, while the law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft is advising Forbes.

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