Magomed Musaev, a Russian executive, pictured in 2021, claimed he is the buyer of Forbes, according to audio and video tapes. When Magomed Musaev, a Kremlin-connected tycoon, gathered friends in New York to celebrate his 60th birthday, he was joined at the head table by top executives from the Forbes Media Group.
Axios reported in May, citing two unnamed individuals, that Musaev had brought Russell into the process to acquire Forbes, though it didn’t describe Musaev as an investor or buyer. Two executives familiar with the situation repeated this claim in interviews with The Post. In a memo circulated to policymakers on Capitol Hill in July and seen by The Post, Treverton cited information showing the deal’s foreign investors, includingnearly 50 percent of the total $800 million purchase price, while Russell would be investing only a small fraction of that amount. “It appears there is a strong national security argument for the US Government to block the ... buyout,” Treverton wrote. Treverton declined to comment further when reached by The Post.
Russell’s announcement in May that he planned to buy Forbes was widely viewed as a surprise. So was the offer valuing Forbes at $800 million, which was $200 million more than the failed SPAC deal’s expected price. Some media analysts also balked at the price tag, noting it was more than the combined sale price of The Washington Post, Fortune and Time.
A spokesperson for Russell told The Post that although “all capital required to complete the Forbes acquisition was contractually committed” when the deal was signed in May, Russell’s team had “continued to attract and engage with interested top-tier investors to expand the investor base.”the Indian conglomerate where Khemka serves as vice chairman, had originally been slated as the lead investor in an earlier version of the sale, according to a January financial document seen by The Post.
Khemka did not respond to a request for comment, while one of Khemka’s daughters, Gayatri, 23, reached by The Post, said she was “not allowed to comment” on the sale.