Additional reporting by Jennifer Saba

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft and LKP Global Law are acting on Forbes’ sale of a majority stake of its media business to a Hong Kong-based group of investors for an undisclosed sum.

The Forbes family, which founded the magazine 97 years ago, is retaining a "significant" interest in the company and remains an active part of management, Forbes Media said in a statement. Steve Forbes will continue to serve as chairman and editor-in-chief.

The buyer is a newly formed consortium out of Hong Kong called Integrated Whale Media Investments, led by Integrated Asset Management, an investment company that focuses on the technology, finance and telecommunications sectors, and Wayne Hsieh, the co-founder of Asustek Computer Inc.

Cadwalader is advising Forbes Media on the transaction, led by New York partners Chris Cox, William Mills, Gregory Patti Jr., David Miller, Richard Nugent and Dorothy Auth, and Washington partner Dale Turza.

A Skadden team led by partners Daniel Dusek in Beijing, Jonathan Stone in Hong Kong, Ivan Schlager in Washington, and Howard Ellin, Steven Matays and Stephanie Teicher in New York are advising Integrated Whale Media Investments.

Los Angeles-based firm LKP Global Law is representing Integrated Whale Media, led by partners Kevin Leung and Francis Chen.

Deutsche Bank is serving as financial adviser for Forbes Media, while Credit Suisse (Hong Kong) is offering financial advice to Integrated Whale Media.

Forbes Media said it will retain its name and will remain a privately held, independent company headquartered in the United States. Chief Executive Officer Mike Perlis will continue to lead the company’s management team. Forbes’ Asian business will continue to be directed from Singapore under Forbes Media's Asia CEO Will Adamopoulos.

The deal means that Elevation Partners, the private equity firm that counts U2 singer Bono as one of its founders, has exited the company. In 2006, it invested $264 million for a 45 percent stake before a downturn racked the print industry as advertisers directed their budgets to the digital field.

When Forbes first announced it was going on the auction block in November, a source familiar with the matter at the time said the company was hoping for a sale in the range of $400 million to $500 million.

It is not known whether that goal was reached, but a person familiar with the deal said the transaction values the company at $475 million.