Report: Forbes Media possibly going public

Forbes Media is discussing going public and is also reviewing at least two offers to sell the company, Reuters reported Thursday.

To go public, Forbes Media would merge with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, though the identity of that company is not known, Reuters reported. 

Forbes is also considering two acquisition offers in the range of $700 million: one from a group of investors led by Michael Moe, founder and CEO of GSV Ventures, and another from Borderless Services, a blockchain technology investment company.

Completion of either offer would keep Forbes a privately held company.

Forbes, Moe and Borderless Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.  

If the SPAC deal is completed, Forbes would become a public company in the U.S. stock market, Reuters reported. 

Forbes declined to comment to Reuters about the possible deals but said “investors have consistently shown interest in Forbes, which has produced three years of record results. 2021 is shaping up to be a strong year as well.”

Integrated Whale Media Investments owns 95 percent of Forbes, while the rest is owned by the Forbes family.

Integrated Whale bought the majority stake in the company from the Forbes family and investment group Elevation Partners in 2014 in a deal that left the Forbes family owning the remainder. 

At the time, the company was valued at $475 million.

A year later, the Forbes family sued Integrated Whale, claiming they had not honored the financial terms of the deal.

Steve Forbes, the chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, has been a contributor to The Hill.