Steve Forbes, the CEO and editor in chief of Forbes Media, posted the following on Friday morning in the wake of the announcement that the company was selling a majority stake to international investors:
While being profoundly disruptive, the web has opened up enormous opportunities as old boundaries are destroyed. The $80 billion bid by 21st Century Fox for Time Warner is a sensational example: “Web Competition Weighs on Entertainment Firms” read one headline. Our transaction will enable us to maintain and speed up the editorial momentum of recent years. It will also rapidly expand the extension of the Forbes brand into promising areas such as education, financial services, real estate and technology license agreements.
Our new partners respect the Forbes mission and our deep belief in entrepreneurial capitalism and free markets. They are entrepreneurs themselves. They recognize the vital importance of journalistic independence and excellence. It is very much in their self interest: violate those values and you vitiate the value and power of the Forbes name, in which they have made a substantial investment. Their insistence on continuity by keeping the Forbes family involved and retaining the current management team is the best evidence of this commitment.
While today marks a fundamental turning point in this 97-year-old company founded by my grandfather, it should be seen as an opportunity to continue and strengthen our mission. I look forward to staying actively involved as Chairman of the Board and Editor-in-Chief and to working with my colleagues and our new partners to take us to new peaks of success.
Read more here.
