Forbes Announces Plans to go Public Via a Merger with a SPAC

Well known and long standing media publication company Forbes, has announced its plans to go public this week via SPAC.

The company announced on Thursday that it aims to go public via a merger with a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, Magnum Opus Acquisition.

The company is expected to be valued at an implied pro forma enterprise value of $630 million, net of tax benefits with this merger. It had been valued at $475 million when Hong Kong-based investor group Integrated Whale Media Investments bought a majority stake in 2014.

The deal is expected to close late in the the fourth quarter of this year or in the first quarter of next year.

Forbes will then debut on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FRBS.

The company’s existing management team will stay in place under the leadership of CEO Mike Federle and the combined company will announce new board members at a later date.

According to Forbes, this move will “further capitalize on its successful digital transformation, using technology and data-driven insights to create more deeply engaged audiences, and associated high-quality and recurring revenue streams.”

The deal will allow Forbes to invest further in building consumer-focused products as the company reduces reliance on media revenue, Forbes Chief Executive Mike Federle said in an interview.

Forbes had reported $163 million in revenue in 2020 and expects it to grow to $193 million this year.

“We’ve created this audience and business scale with 150 million people. This funding will allow us to create bespoke products that address these different industry cohorts as we focus on direct-to-consumer conversion,” said Federle.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.