By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 25th, 2024
Telegram conducted an oversubscribed bond offering as investors forecast the company’s inevitable profitability from its 900 million monthly active users.
Globally recognized instant messaging platform Telegram Messenger successfully raised $330 million in the latest funding round from unnamed investors. According to Telegram’s founder and Chief Executive Officer Pavel Durov, the company’s funding round was heavily oversubscribed with the majority of the bond terms in its favor. Moreover, it is reported that the current yield of the bonds is 7.7 percent with a maturity of 2026 or until the company conducts its highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO).
“This bond offering was oversubscribed, and we were delighted to have global funds of the highest caliber with impeccable reputations as participants. The terms of the bonds, when adjusted for the Federal Reserve rate, were the most favorable for Telegram in the history of our company,” Durov noted.
Durov did not reveal the investors that participated in the bond offering but indicated that global financial institutions value Telegram’s tangible growth. Earlier last week, Durov highlighted that Telegram has 900 million monthly active users, up from 500 million that was registered in early 2021.
As the company explores a future initial public offering (IPO), Durov noted that Telegram has already ruled out the sale of the platform. Furthermore, Telegram has raised more than $2 billion in debt financing, whereby it raised $1.75 billion in bond offering in 2021, and $275 million raised last year.
“The main reason why we started to monetize is because we wanted to remain independent. Generally speaking, we see value in an IPO as a means to democratize access to Telegram’s value,” Durov noted.
Telegram Growth and Market Picture
Telegram has grown to a top-tier global messaging application amid the changing geopolitical environment. The notable control of United States-based social media platforms – led by the family of applications from Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) – has significantly helped Telegram obtain global recognition as a secure private messaging platform.
Nonetheless, Telegram has been criticized for harboring extremist content and enabling criminal activities due to its reputable end-to-end encryption technology. According to Durov, free speech is the integral component of Telegram that separates its services from other providers around the world.
In a bid to remain independent, Telegram has launched several subscription services including premium subscription and advertising services. Moreover, the company has a huge market that is monetizable with the help of blockchain technology. According to Durov, the paid features that are aimed at enterprise clients require added bandwidth and cost of operations.
“We are hoping to become profitable next year, if not this year,” Durov highlighted.
Notably, Telegram has been moving towards blockchain technology through the Telegram Open Network (TON). According to the latest market data, the TON coin has a fully diluted valuation of about $18.7 billion and a daily average traded volume of around $181 million.