Telegram’s Daring Financial Ballet: A $1.5B Bond Extravaganza! 💸🎭

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What to know:

  • Telegram, that charming messenger of our digital age, is raising a staggering $1.5 billion through a new bond offering, with illustrious investors like BlackRock, Mubadala, and Citadel joining the soirée.
  • The proceeds, dear reader, will be used to repurchase debt from Telegram’s earlier bond issuance in 2021—because who doesn’t love a good financial makeover?
  • In a delightful twist, the firm reported a $540 million profit on a mere $1.4 billion in revenue in 2024. Quite the financial renaissance, wouldn’t you agree?

Ah, the illustrious Telegram, a messaging platform that has decided to raise at least $1.5 billion through a new bond offering. One can only imagine the champagne flowing at their headquarters!

They are raising these funds through a five-year bond with a 9% yield, which has attracted the attention of returning investors like the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala. Newcomers like hedge fund Citadel have also decided to join this financial gala, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, which seems to have a nose for such delightful tidbits.

The proceeds will be used to repurchase debt from Telegram’s earlier bond issuance in 2021, due next March. The new bonds, oh so fashionable, are convertible into equity at a discount if Telegram decides to grace the public with its presence.

Telegram, in its infinite wisdom, originally developed the layer 1 network TON, before deciding it was too fabulous to keep under wraps and making it an independent operation. In a recent twist, tokenization firm Libre announced plans to tokenize $500 million worth of Telegram debt on TON as the Telegram Bond Fund (TBF). Quite the mouthful, isn’t it?

With over 1 billion monthly active users and 15 million paid subscribers—having doubled that figure in just a year, according to the ever-optimistic Durov—Telegram is certainly not lacking in popularity.

Financially, the firm has turned a corner in 2024, reporting a $540 million profit on $1.4 billion in revenue, a remarkable recovery from a $173 million loss in 2023, as the WSJ so kindly pointed out. They project a profit of more than $700 million for 2025. One can only hope they don’t spend it all on extravagant parties!

Telegram has grown its revenue by expanding its ad business and introducing features like in-app digital gifts and a platform for developers to build apps and bots. Truly, they are the gift that keeps on giving!

As for Telegram and Citadel, they did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Perhaps they were too busy counting their coins or planning their next grand venture.

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2025-05-28 15:33