Austin Russell, the 28-year-old American CEO of electric vehicle tech company Luminar Technologies, plans to put in only $10 million of his own money as part of his bid to buy 82% of Forbes for $656 million, two sources familiar with the deal told Axios. The rest is almost all coming from foreign investors.

Why it matters: The relatively small personal financial commitment from Russell supports Axios’ previous reporting that the deal to buy Forbes, which was hastily announced last Friday evening, is structured in a way that obscures how much money foreign investors may put in.

  • Putting Russell forward as the face of a deal largely funded by foreign investors could help Forbes’ owners get the deal past regulators.
  • While it’s not unusual for foreign investors or companies to buy U.S. media brands, it is unusual to structure a deal to make it look like a U.S. citizen is buying an asset, when most of the money being used to fund the deal is originating from foreign investors.

https://www.axios.com/2023/05/16/forbes-buyout-foreign-investors-austin-russell