Forbes magazine may change hands (again)

FORBES Media, which only ironed out the legal differences between the Forbes family and its new Asian owners late last year, is now said to be on the brink of selling a majority stake to another Chinese company.

Hedge fund HNA Group is circling the magazine publisher with an eye toward buying a controlling stake, according to a report.

The company now is 95-percent owned by Hong Kong-based Integrated Whale Media, with Chairman Steve Forbes and siblings owning the remaining slice of the family business founded by B.C. Forbes in 1917.

HNA recently agreed to buy Anthony Scaramucci’s stake in SkyBridge Capital so that he would be free to take a post in the Trump administration — a move that has been delayed.

The proposed HNA offer for Forbes Media is said to be worth around $400 million, according to Reuters, which first reported on HNA’s interest.

Spokeswomen for Forbes Media and Integrated Whale Media declined comment.

Pecker non-lunch

There was no free lunch for Us Weekly survivors.

Last week, 38 editorial staffers of the celebrity weekly, including Editor-in-Chief Michael Steele, were told they would not be retained once the deal by Wenner Media to sell the title to David Pecker’s American Media Inc. closed.

About 80 staffers who were offered jobs were invited by Pecker to lunch at Le Bernardin at 12:45 p.m. on Friday.

Most assumed that they would at least be getting a nice meal while they met their new bosses — a pleasant offering despite the pain of knowing many colleagues were getting the ax. But surprise.

“There was no food,” said one shocked staffer. “Stomachs were growling while David Pecker told his life story.” There were a few snacks and bottles of water — but not enough chow to go around.

The soon-to-be new employees listened as Pecker recounted the time he backed John F. Kennedy Jr. at George magazine and his joint venture running Elle.

Pecker also said he “loved” Us Weekly and its celebrity coverage.

One staffer gingerly asked why, if their celebrity coverage was so well received, had he sacked all 11 members of the Los Angeles bureau. Only Rebecca Bienstock, who was the West Coast bureau chief, may be spared. She has until Friday to accept a job as a reporter — in New York.

Pecker, according to insiders, said something about how, if mistakes were made, they could be corrected. Meanwhile, the fired staffers are still technically Wenner Media employees until federal regulators give the thumbs-up for AMI to add the No. 2 celebrity title to its stable — already packed with OK!, Star and the National Enquirer.

Bio bucks

Now we may have a better clue as to why Penguin Random House, controlled by the German media giant Bertelsmann, was willing to pay a reported $65 million advance earlier this month for dual memoirs by former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

In its year-end statement released Tuesday, Markus Dohle, chief executive of Penguin Random House, said the lack of a “new breakout megaseller” in 2016 was one reason sales and earnings were lower last year at the world’s largest publisher of consumer books.

Revenue at Penguin Random House tumbled 9.6 percent, to $3.66 billion, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization dropped 3.6 percent.

It is not that Penguin Random House was absent from bestseller lists, but its breakout hits — “The Girl on the Train,” “Me Before You” and “After You” — were all carryover best-sellers released the previous year.

Penguin Random House retained world rights to the two memoirs.

Dohle said in a letter to employees, “each of you will be able to share in these publishing experi- ences through our globally coordinated publication of both books in all our territories.”

No publication date has been set for either book.

Time watch

Still no word on who will nail down Time Inc. — although Meredith, which issued surprisingly strong guidance on its earnings last week, still appears to be the lead candidate, sources say. But it has not yet come down to final negotiations with a single buyer and the Time board, led by Executive Chairman Joe Ripp and CEO Rich Battista, suggesting there are still sticking points and a few hurdles. “It’s a competitive process with multiple suitors,” said a source close to the situation. The bidding process is still being described as “fluid.” Recent speculation has suggested that a possible bid could approach $21 a share, which would place the deal at just over $2 billion. There is also $1.2 billion in debt on the books.