Austin Russell, a 28-year-old auto technology tycoon, acquired an 82% stake in Forbes Global Media Holdings, the parent company of the well-known business magazine.
The deal values the company at nearly $800 million, the parties said in a statement on Friday. The seller, Hong Kong-based Integrated Whale Media Investments, retains a minority interest. The Forbes family will not do this, although Steve Forbes will remain involved.
Russell is CEO of Luminar Technologies Inc., a provider of anonymous driving technology to the automotive industry. The company, which has a market cap of $2.1 billion, had sales of $40.7 million last year and is not profitable.
According to the statement, Russell plans to act as a visionary for the “Forbes” brand and not be involved in day-to-day operations.
Forbes plans to appoint a new board composed of American media, technology and artificial intelligence experts. Integrated Whale retains one seat on the board.
The magazine was founded in 1917 by BC Forbes, a Scottish immigrant and business columnist for the Hearst newspaper chain.
Forbes competes with Bloomberg in providing business news.
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