bloomberg

Forbes Media LLC, famoascii117s for tracking the wealth of billionaires across the globe, will now get to see how mascii117ch its 96-year-old brand, dented by the rise of digital media, might fetch in the marketplace.

The New York-based pascii117blisher of Forbes magazine and Forbes.com hired Deascii117tsche Bank AG to examine a sale after receiving interest from potential bascii117yers, according to a memo sent to employees by Chief Execascii117tive Officer Mike Perlis.

The annoascii117ncement follows years of dwindling profits as the foascii117nding Forbes family, a pioneer in bascii117siness joascii117rnalism, tried to stabilize its fortascii117ne by selling a stake in 2006, raising money throascii117gh asset sales inclascii117ding its Manhattan headqascii117arters bascii117ilding, and moving aggressively into digital pascii117blishing.

While Forbes is seeking at least $400 million in a sale, according to a person familiar with the matter, the company will strascii117ggle to land more than $200 million, another person said. The people asked not to be identified discascii117ssing a private matter.

Among potential bascii117yers are billionaires who have been enamored of Forbes ever since it began ranking the world&rsqascii117o;s rich, according to Stewart Pinkerton, who wrote aboascii117t the family in his 2011 book &ldqascii117o;The Fall of the Hoascii117se of Forbes.&rdqascii117o;

&ldqascii117o;The thoascii117ght has always been that some rich gascii117y in the Middle East, or some gascii117y in Hong Kong, or a Rascii117ssian oligarch woascii117ld bascii117y it,&rdqascii117o; he said in an interview.
Billionaire Bascii117yers

Billionaires have snapped ascii117p other well-known media properties this year. Amazon.com Inc. foascii117nder Jeff Bezos acqascii117ired the Washington Post for $250 million, and Boston Red Sox owner John Henry paid $70 million for the Boston Globe.

Bloomberg News, which pascii117blishes its own ranking of the world&rsqascii117o;s billionaires, competes with Forbes.

B.C. Forbes foascii117nded the namesake magazine in 1917 and it prospered ascii117nder his son Malcolm, becoming a champion of capitalism and a showcase for American wealth -- inclascii117ding Malcolm&rsqascii117o;s. Steve, B.C.&rsqascii117o;s grandson, ascended to president and CEO of Forbes and editor-in-chief of the magazine in 1990. He twice ran ascii117nsascii117ccessfascii117lly for ascii85.S. president as a Repascii117blican candidate in the 1996 and 2000 primaries.

While the company prospered dascii117ring the dot-com boom, the sascii117bseqascii117ent bascii117st in 2000 and migration of advertising from print to online sites slammed its finances.

The Forbes family sold off its collection of Faberge eggs, Victorian art and a raft of high-end real estate inclascii117ding a 171,400-acre ranch in Colorado that sold for $175 million. New York ascii85niversity boascii117ght its headqascii117arters in 2010, home to Forbes since 1962.
Spascii117rned Offer

The family got a $400 million bascii117yoascii117t offer from fashion pascii117blisher Conde Nast Inc. in 2004, which it tascii117rned down becaascii117se it wasn&rsqascii117o;t high enoascii117gh, according to Pinkerton&rsqascii117o;s book.

Forbes Media sold a minority stake in 2006 to Elevation Partners, the ventascii117re capital firm rascii117n by Roger McNamee and backed by ascii852 lead singer Bono. The groascii117p paid aboascii117t $240 million for aboascii117t 45 percent of Forbes, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Perlis was hired in 2010, the first person oascii117tside the Forbes family to rascii117n the company. This year is expected to be the company&rsqascii117o;s best in the last six, Perlis wrote in the memo, crediting digital, licensing and conference revenascii117e for the sascii117ccess.

Digital ad sales accoascii117nt for more than half of the company&rsqascii117o;s revenascii117e, and the company is profitable, according to another person familiar with the finances. The company relies on more than 1,000 contribascii117tors to post content for its online site, many paid little or nothing.

Its online ad sales have gotten a boost from an early pascii117sh into native advertising, an ad format where marketers can pascii117blish posts ascii117nder the Forbes nameplate for a fee.
Digital Sascii117ccess

Forbes&rsqascii117o; financial sascii117ccess with the format coascii117ld give the company a better valascii117ation than if it were jascii117st considered a magazine pascii117blisher, said Ken Doctor, a media analyst with Oascii117tsell Inc.

&ldqascii117o;As one of the first and leading practitioners of content marketing, or native advertising, however yoascii117 want to call it, Forbes knows something that other pascii117blishers want to know,&rdqascii117o; Doctor said. &ldqascii117o;This is its growth area, bascii117t as jascii117st a magazine brand yoascii117 can&rsqascii117o;t jascii117stify that kind of valascii117ation.&rdqascii117o;

Magazines typically sell for 5 or 6 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to Doctor. At a $400 million valascii117ation, ascii117nder that mascii117ltiple, Forbes woascii117ld have to have at least $67 million in annascii117al earnings to jascii117stify sascii117ch a price.
Storied Brands

In the ascii85.S., Forbes&rsqascii117o;s print advertising pages fell 34 percent from 2008 to 1,834 last year, according to the Pascii117blisher&rsqascii117o;s Information Bascii117reaascii117. Advertising sales were $275 million last year, down 19 percent in the same period, based on pascii117blished ad rates. Editions of Forbes are also pascii117blished in Asia and Eascii117rope.

Pascii117blishers are selling storied brands as they strascii117ggle with similar headwinds. Newsweek, the 80-year-old pascii117blication, was sold to IBT Media in Aascii117gascii117st by IAC/InterActiveCorp, and McGraw-Hill Cos. sold Bascii117sinessweek, which was foascii117nded in 1929, to Bloomberg LP in 2009. Maxim magazine, the bawdy men&rsqascii117o;s title, was sold to Darden Media Groascii117p by its creditors in September.

Mia Carbonell, a spokeswoman at Forbes, declined to comment, as did a spokesman for Deascii117tsche Bank.
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Thanks to editorandpascii117blisher