{"id":23613,"date":"2021-03-29T04:50:43","date_gmt":"2021-03-29T04:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rbsitsoftwaresolution.com\/blog\/update-telegram-raises-1bn-including-150m-from-mubadala-and-abu-dhabi-cp-via-pre-ipo-convertible-bonds.html"},"modified":"2021-03-29T04:50:43","modified_gmt":"2021-03-29T04:50:43","slug":"update-telegram-raises-1bn-including-150m-from-mubadala-and-abu-dhabi-cp-via-pre-ipo-convertible-bonds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rbsitsoftwaresolution.in\/blog\/update-telegram-raises-1bn-including-150m-from-mubadala-and-abu-dhabi-cp-via-pre-ipo-convertible-bonds.html","title":{"rendered":"Update: Telegram raises $1BN+, including $150M from Mubadala and Abu Dhabi CP via pre-IPO convertible bonds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Update:<\/strong> Telegram has now announced it\u2019s pulled in over $1BN in debt financing by selling bonds.<\/p>\n

Founder Pavel Durov put out an update via his official Telegram channel after a press announcement earlier today had revealed the company had taken in $150M from Mubadala and Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners by selling 5-year pre-IPO convertible bonds.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear where the additional millions in debt funding are coming from \u2014 Durov merely writes that Telegram has sold bonds to \u201csome of the largest and most knowledgable investors from all over the world\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will enable Telegram to continue growing globally while sticking to its values and remaining independent,\u201d he goes on, adding that the $1BN debt cushion will also be used to implement a monetization strategy he set out in December \u2014 when Durov wrote that \u201ca project of our size needs at least a few hundred million dollars per year to keep going\u201d.<\/p>\n

He also committed not to sell Telegram, reiterating then that he wants it to remain independent. Monetization would be non-intrusive, he further pledged then, saying any future move to monetize large one-to-many channels through ads would see benefits flow back to the community \u2014 such as in the form of \u201cfree traffic in proportion to their size\u201d \u2014 while future content sales (like premium stickers) would also entail contributing artists getting \u201ca part of the profit\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want millions of Telegram-based creators and small businesses to thrive, enriching the experience of all our users,\u201d was Durov\u2019s strategic vision in December. Now he\u2019s got the debt war chest to execute on the plan.<\/p>\n

Our original report follows below\u2026\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Messaging platform Telegram, which recently passed 500 million monthly active users but still isn\u2019t monetizing all the digital chatter it hosts \u2014 has taken in a little more funding to keep its engines ticking over.<\/p>\n

Mubadala Investment Company, the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor, is throwing in $75M in exchange for 5-year pre-IPO convertible bonds of Telegram \u2014 with Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners investing a further $75M, the pair said today in a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The investment is touted as a strategic partnership, with Mubadala anticipating benefits for Abu Dhabi\u2019s startup ecosystem by having a local Telegram presence drawing in skills and talent to the capital.<\/p>\n

Per Reuters<\/a> Telegram will be opening an office in Abu Dhabi following the investment \u2014 building out its regional presence from a Dubai, UAE base.<\/p>\n

Commenting in a statement, Pavel Durov, Telegram founder and CEO, said: \u201cWe are honoured by the $150M investment into Telegram from Mubadala and Abu Dubai Catalyst Partners. We look forward to developing this strategic partnership to continue our growth in the MENA region and globally.\u201d<\/p>\n

To date, Telegram has been bankrolled over a seven+ year lifespan by Durov, who made ~$300M from selling his stake in the vk social network he also founded \u2014 aka Russia\u2019s \u2018Facebook\u2019 \u2014 back in 2015.<\/p>\n

But sustaining a messaging platform with half a billion users can\u2019t be done through billionaire bootstrapping alone.<\/p>\n

Some additional investment did come in via Telegram\u2019s recent attempt to launch a blockchain platform<\/a>. However the effort was derailed by US regulators last year \u2014 forcing it to refund<\/a> most (but not all) of the money it had booked for the failed TON platform<\/a> \u2014 so speculation over how Telegram will monetize its platform goes on.<\/p>\n

In recent weeks Durov has responded to this chatter via his public Telegram channel to confirm he\u2019s considering introducing ads for \u201clarge one-to-many channels\u201d \u2014 but pledging he won\u2019t do so in chats.<\/p>\n

He has also rejected the notion of using user data to target ads \u2014 a move that would undermine the loud privacy promises Telegram repeatedly makes to users to put clear blue water between its platform and the (Facebook-owned) data-mining competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsers will be able to opt out of ads, but I do think that privacy-conscious ads are a good way for channel owners to monetize their efforts \u2014 as an alternative to donations or subscriptions, which we are also working to offer them,\u201d Durov wrote last month.<\/p>\n

Telegram\u2019s usage has, meanwhile, continued to swell this year \u2014 boosted by users switching from Facebook-owned WhatsApp over privacy concerns<\/a>. So there\u2019s limited room for copycat monetization, unless Durov is willing to trash his personal \u2018pro-privacy, pro-user\u2019 brand. To say that\u2019s highly unlikely is an understatement.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, he has further limited his options by rejecting a series of investment offers in recent months.<\/p>\n

A report in Russian press earlier this year<\/a> said he\u2019d rejected an investment offer for a 5%-10% stake in the company that had valued it at $30BN.\u00a0We\u2019ve also been told he rejected a higher offer that had valued Telegram at $35BN \u2014 and another of $4BN at a $40BN pre-money valuation.<\/p>\n

\u201cDurov is afraid of investors of any kind,\u201d one source told us on why he refused to give up any equity.<\/p>\n

Debt financing seems to be Telegram\u2019s preferred route at this stage. Back in January The Information<\/a> reported that it was discussing raising up to $1BN in debt financing from with banks and investors \u2014 which would convert to shares in an eventual public offering.<\/p>\n

That debt route \u2014 via pre-IPO convertible bonds \u2014 is now taking shape with today\u2019s investment news out of Abu Dhabi. Although $150M is a lot less than the rumoured $1BN so this may be just an initial tranche. (And may in fact be needed to pay back TON investors\u2019 whose refunds are falling due<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

But with a couple of debt backers sticking their necks out to take a punt on Durov\u2019s anti-establishment alternative \u2014 and on the chance of an Telegram IPO by 2026 \u2014 the company is in a better position to get buy in from other debt funders, including in the region as it deepens its geographical commitment to the Middle East.<\/p>\n

One key attraction for Telegram backers is likely to be its agile product dev. There Durov has repeatedly shown he can deliver \u2014 growing usage of his platform with the help of a steady pipeline of user-focused features.<\/p>\n

Efforts on the product side at this stage look geared towards pivoting into a Patreon-style platform for content creators to build communities of followers willing to pay for their content (which would thereby enable Telegram to monetize by taking a cut as commission).<\/p>\n

\u201cOur end goal is to establish a new class of content creators \u2014 one that is financially sustainable and free to choose the strategy that is best for their subscribers,\u201d wrote Durov last month. \u201cTraditional social networks have exploited users and publishers for far too long with excessive data collection and manipulative algorithms. It\u2019s time to change this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just over a month later his channel lit up again with more product news \u2014 this time capitalizing on the buzz around social audio with the announcement of the launch of a Clubhouse-clone on Telegram channels dubbed \u201cvoice chats 2.0\u201d.<\/p>\n

He also announced feature that lets admins of channels and public groups host voice chats for millions of live listeners \u2014 taking the cap off the earlier feature. \u201cNo matter how popular your talk gets, new people will be able to tune in. It\u2019s like public radio reinvented fo the 21st century,\u201d Telegram\u2019s blog post enthused.<\/p>\n

Durov had more developments to tease: One-to-many video broadcasts that will see the platform let users host their own \u2018TV stations\u2019 which he said will be coming this \u201cspring\u201d. So Telegram continues to evolve as the social app landscape shifts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Commenting on the debt financing in a statement, James Munce, CFO and COO of Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners (ADCP), lauded Telegram\u2019s management team\u2019s \u201cunshakeable dedication to building a platform centred around privacy and user experience\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe this creates a strong value proposition and will be a focal point for social media platforms and a new era of messaging,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\n

Telegram, nearing 500 million users, to begin monetizing the app<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

\n

Report: Social audio app Clubhouse has topped 8 million global downloads<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Article source: http:\/\/feedproxy.google.com\/~r\/techcrunch\/social\/~3\/yrOlLo3U1DQ\/<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Update: Telegram has now announced it\u2019s pulled in over $1BN in debt financing by selling bonds. Founder Pavel Durov put out an update via his official Telegram channel after a <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[10,7,14,15,6,12,11],"class_list":["post-23613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-update","tag-computer-news","tag-downloads","tag-microsoft-download-news","tag-networking-updates","tag-technology-update","tag-wordpress-plugin-download","tag-wordpress-theme-download"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t