Axel Springer, others interested in Forbes

Forbes Media, the company known for its namesake magazine and ranking the world's richest people, has caught the attention of six different companies including Germany's Axel Springer, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Other interested companies, the Journal said, include Chinese investment company Fosun International; Spice Global, an investment conglomerate based in Singapore; private equity firm Oxley Group in Singapore; investment management company Whale Capital Group in China; and the president of Forbes conferences, Jack Laschever who is leading an investment group.

A spokeswoman for Forbes, which is privately owned, declined to comment.

A representative of Axel Springer, publisher of Germany's biggest selling daily newspaper Bild, also declined to comment.

Representatives for Fosun, Spice Global and the Oxley Group could not immediately be reached for comment. Whale Capital could not be reached to comment. Laschever was also not immediately available.

The Forbes family announced it was putting the media company up for sale in November. The family, along with private equity firm Elevation Partners, hopes to fetch between $400 million and $500 million, Reuters quoted a person familiar with the matter as saying at the time. Elevation Partners owns a 45 per cent stake in Forbes.

It is not clear how much the parties are willing to bid, the Journal said.