Telegram offers bonds to investors from Europe, Asia and the Middle East
It became known that the company Telegram, which owns the messenger of the same name, plans to float its bonds on the stock exchange. The securities will be available only to a limited number of investors from Europe, Asia, Russia and the Middle East. The company intends to raise $1 billion in capital during the offering.
According to some experts, the bonds are convertible for 5 years. During this period, investors will receive an annual coupon, which corresponds to about 7-8% of the total debt. If Telegram decides to make an IPO during the term of the bonds, then the owners of the securities have the right to convert the debt into the company’s shares. They are also given a discount of 10% of the offering price.
The minimum threshold for purchasing bonds is $50 million. However, a number of people close to Telegram’s management say that this amount can be reduced to $10 million.
The company itself is the organizer of the securities placement, and it is assisted by intermediaries in the countries where the bonds will be available. Telegram reserved the right to decide which investor to cooperate with. It is also reported that buyers from the United States will not be able to participate in the acquisition.
A number of Russian companies have already received offers from Telegram’s agents in this country – VTB banks and broker Aton.
It is planned that the developer of the messenger will use the funds received to develop the business and expand the audience of users. In addition, the company needs new investments to cover the losses associated with the TON cryptocurrency platform, which has never been launched.
As for comments from Telegram owner Pavel Durov, he has not yet confirmed rumors that the company is actively looking for new investors. At the same time, the programmer noted that a number of those who wanted to take the initiative and himself approached the management. Durov also assured that in the near future will not carry out the IPO procedure.
It should be noted that the Telegram messenger was initially invested in the development and operation of the social network “VKontakte”. At the end of last year, Pavel Durov announced plans to monetize the application, as the maintenance of the messenger is extremely expensive and requires funding. So far, various options to do this are being considered, one of which is lending.
In addition to seeking funds to maintain the messenger, Durov and his team are working to increase the number of users. Experts note that the app is gaining popularity in the U.S., which opens up great opportunities for Telegram. In the last month, it added about 25 million users.
