Forbes parent exploring a sale

Forbes Media, the parent company of the business magazine Forbes, is exploring selling itself, reports Alex Sherman, Jeffrey McCracken and Edmund Lee of Bloomberg News.

Sherman, McCracken and Lee write, “The New York-based publisher of 96-year-old Forbes magazine and Forbes.com is working with Deutsche Bank AG on the sale, according to a memo sent to the company’s employees. Forbes is seeking at least $400 million, said a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified as the information is private.

“Magazine publishers are selling storied brands as they struggle with declines in advertising revenue and circulation amid competition from the Internet. Newsweek, the 80-year-old publication, was sold to IBT Media in August by IAC/InterActiveCorp, and McGraw-Hill Cos. sold Businessweek, which was founded in 1929, to Bloomberg LP in 2009. Maxim magazine, the bawdy men’s title, was sold to Darden Media Group by its creditors in September.

“Bloomberg LP, the New York-based news and financial information provider, is the also the parent of Bloomberg News, which competes with Forbes.

“Editions of the magazine are published in Asia and Europe. Its U.S. advertising sales were $275 million last year, down 19 percent since 2008, according to the Publisher’s Information Bureau.”

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