Telegram, a messaging platform, has raised $1.7 billion from investors in recent bonds, featuring 9% coupons that were closed on May 28th.
According to Bloomberg, the company plans to use a portion of its revenue to pay $955 million in debt from its previous bond issue, which matured in 2026. The remaining $745 million is fresh capital for growth and operational costs.
Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov wrote in a Telegram post:
“The response from investors has been incredible. We are deeply grateful for the investment funds that have supported us over the years. We expanded our offerings to more than our initial $1.5 billion due to strong demand, but the demand was still well beyond what we could allocate.”
Telegram continues to attract investors’ attention as a crypto-friendly messaging company expands its global reach and capabilities. The platform is widely used in the crypto community and is seen as a way to promote mainstream adoption.
Investors participating in sales, including asset manager BlackRock and Abu Dhabi investment company Mbadara, have the option to buy Telegram stock at a 20% discount on potential future initial public offerings (IPOs).
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Telegram’s provisional deal with Musk’s Xai
Bond sales follow several recent developments from Telegram, including a deal between the messaging company and Xai of Elon Musk, the artificial intelligence company behind Grok.
Telegram and Xai reportedly agreed to give Telegram users access to Grok for a year, Durov wrote in the X-Post on May 28th. The company will receive $300 million in cash and shares from Xai and receive “50% of revenue from Xai subscriptions sold through Telegram.”
Musk later denied that a deal between the two companies had been signed. According to Durov’s response, the transaction process is “pending.”
Toncoin (Ton) is Telegram’s only digital asset accepted into its app service, surged more than 20% on May 28th to $3.69.
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