Forbes buyer Russell seeking to raise money to close deal

Austin Russell, the 28-year-old CEO of electric vehicle company Luminar Technologies, is trying to replace hundreds of millions of dollars for his bid to buy Forbes, reports Sara Fischer of Axios.

Fischer reports, “Russell was blindsided by Indian investment firm Sun Group and others who didn’t wire the money they were contractually obligated to send on the day the deal was supposed to close, per the sources.

“Russell missed a two-week extension deadline earlier this week to get his $800 million bid together. If he doesn’t come up with the cash soon, his deal to buy Forbes could be in peril.

“For now, Russell is still in exclusive negotiations to buy the storied media brand from Forbes’ majority owner, a Hong Kong-based investment firm called Integrated Whale Media (IWM).

“Neither party has officially terminated the deal yet, but sources told Axios IWM is growing impatient with each missed deadline.”

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Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.