|
財經媒體巨頭福布斯（Forbes）正在掛牌待沽，據稱要價4億美元，德意志銀行（Deutsche Bank）正在搜尋買主。但如果出售，福布斯家族可能只會拿到相對較少的一部分收益。 2006年，一家私募股權公司Elevation Partners收購了擁有《福布斯》（Forbes）雜志和其他資產的家族所有出版公司Forbes Media LLC的少數股股權，這家私募股權公司的合伙人包括搖滾樂隊U2前主唱Bono和蘋果公司（Apple）前高管弗雷德?安德森。這項交易未披露任何財務信息，但《福布斯》獲悉投資總額為2.64億美元（包括一些后續的小額投資）。而且，這項交易設計為優先股，這意味著如果出售，Elevation將優先收回投資（和分享收益）。 從要價來看，此項規定是最高條款。如果福布斯以4億美元出售，少數股股東Elevation將獲得大部分出售所得。這也不算卑鄙，特別是鑒于Elevation已經將其對福布斯的投資減記了75%以上。 對于Elevation，這將成為它的第二次大贖救。這家公司曾向移動設備制造商Palm投資了4.60億美元，這原本看來是一大錯誤，但通過一種復雜的結構——加上惠普（Hewlett-Packard）出乎意料地慷慨收購了Palm——該公司突然之間獲得了約2,500萬美元的利潤。該公司還通過對Facebook和Yelp的較小規模投資獲得了大筆收益。 福布斯將是Elevation募集的這唯一一支基金中最后的主要持股，這支19億美元的基金于2005年封閉?；疬€持有約225,000股Yelp股票，價值1,520萬美元。截至3月31日，該基金仍盈利，內部回報率為8.41%（假若將出售福布斯全部記入，這一數字將顯著提升）。 Elevation的一位發言人拒絕對本文發表評論。 |
Financial media giant Forbes is on the block for a reported $400 million, with Deutsche Bank (DB) beating the bushes for a buyer. If there is a sale, however, relatively few of the proceeds would go into the Forbes family's pockets. Back in 2006, a private equity firm called Elevation Partners -- whose partners include rock star Bono and former Apple (AAPL) exec Fred Anderson -- acquired a minority stake in Forbes Media LLC, the family-owned publisher of Forbes magazine and other properties. No financial terms were disclosed, but Fortune has learned that the total investment was $264 million (including some small follow-on investments). Moreover, the deal was structured as preferred stock, meaning that Elevation would get paid back first in the event of a sale (and then share in any gains). That provision is paramount today, given the asking price. If Forbes sells for $400 million, then minority shareholder Elevation would receive a majority of the proceeds. Not too shabby, particularly given that Elevation had written its Forbes investment down by more than 75%. For Elevation, this would be its second major save. The firm previously looked to have made a massive mistake by investing $460 million into mobile device maker Palm, but used a sophisticated structure -- plus an unexpectedly generous buyout from Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) -- to eek out around a $25 million profit. It also has experienced large gains via smaller investments in both Facebook (FB) and Yelp (YELP). Forbes would be the last major holding for the only fund Elevation has ever raised, a $1.9 billion vehicle closed in 2005. It also retains around 225,000 shares in Yelp, valued at $15.2 million. As of March 31, the fund was profitable with an 8.41 internal rate of return (a figure that would rise considerably were it to be made whole on Forbes). An Elevation spokesman declined to comment for this story. |
最新文章