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| Binance invests $200 million in Forbes magazine |
Forbes has announced a strategic investment of $200 million from Binance, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency and blockchain infrastructure providers, to own a portion of its premium business intelligence brand.
Forbes previously announced plans to merge with Magnum Opus. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. This deal made Forbes a public company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The IPO allows Forbes to take greater advantage of its successful digital transformation, leveraging technology and data-driven insights to create a more engaged audience and high-quality recurring revenue stream.
The funding is part of a $400 million private equity investment that Forbes is preparing to go public through a merger with a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPAC).
“Forbes strives to demystify complexity and provide actionable insights into blockchain technology and all emerging digital assets,” said Mike Federell, CEO of Forbes. Thanks to Binance's investment in Forbes, we now have the expertise, network and resources of one of the world's leading cryptocurrency platforms and one of the world's most successful blockchain innovators.
As the founder and CEO of Binance said, “As Web 3 and blockchain technology advances and the cryptocurrency market matures, we know that media is an important part of building understanding and education. We look forward to supporting Forbes’ digital initiatives as they evolve into a new investment insights platform.”
Forbes Announces Strategic Investment in Binance
As part of the deal, Patrick Hellman, Binance's chief communications officer, will join Forbes' board of directors. Bill Chen, head of venture capital arm and incubator Binance Labs, has also joined the Forbes Board of Directors.
The deal is an interesting move because it shows how Web3 companies come to buy media. The deal also brings together media outlets facing defamation lawsuits on the platform in 2020.
Binance claims to have lost millions of dollars thanks to a Forbes article. The article states that the complex structure of the platform is designed to deliberately deceive regulators and secretly take advantage of US crypto investors.
The platform dropped the lawsuit early last year. However, the item is still available on the outlet's website. The platform said at the time: Binance continues to believe that the Forbes article on October 29, 2020 is false and misleading.