Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov stated on his channel immediately that the corporate secured $330 million in funding by means of bond gross sales final week.
Durov stated that the providing was oversubscribed with favorable phrases to the corporate.
“This bond providing was oversubscribed, and we had been delighted to have international funds of the very best caliber with impeccable reputations as members. The phrases of the bonds (when adjusted for the Federal Reserve charge) had been probably the most favorable for Telegram within the historical past of our firm,” he stated on his channel.
Whereas he didn’t identify establishments that invested within the platform, he stated that international monetary establishments worth the corporate’s development.
In an interview with the Monetary Occasions final week, Durov stated that the corporate goals to be worthwhile subsequent yr. He additionally talked about that Telegram is exploring an choice to go public.
“The principle motive why we began to monetize is as a result of we wished to stay impartial. Typically talking, we see worth in [an IPO] as a way to democratize entry to Telegram’s worth,” he advised FT.
Sources conversant in the deal advised TechCrunch that the present yield of the bonds is 7.7%. The maturity for the bonds is both 2026 or when Telegram goes public, whichever is earlier. These bonds had been issued at a worth of $91— up from $78 of the final concern.
The chat app, which has greater than 900 million customers, issued bonds price $210 million final yr. The Dubai-headquartered firm has launched new methods to earn income prior to now few years, together with by means of adverts, username gross sales on the blockchain, and premium subscriptions. Earlier this month, the corporate introduced that private customers can convert their accounts to enterprise accounts by paying a subscription charge.
