Binance invests $200 million in Forbes and becomes one of the top two owners

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is making a strategic $200 million investment in Forbes, the 104-year-old magazine and digital publisher.

The funds will help Forbes execute its plan to merge with a publicly traded special purpose entity (SPAC) in the first quarter, according to people familiar with the transaction.

Investors have become increasingly wary of SPAC deals in general, and media deals in particular, in recent months amid a widespread stock market crash. Binance’s investment replaces half of the $400 million pledged by institutional investors announced by Forbes in August.

This would make Binance one of the top two owners of Forbes, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “FRBS”.

Sources say the exchange will also have two directors out of a total of nine board members.

The move shows the growing real influence of the cryptocurrency sector, which has sent valuations skyrocketing and created a new class of billionaires amid growing global interest in financial assets. As crypto companies have gone public, sports arenas have been branded and celebrity waves flooded, this marks the sector’s first major investment in traditional US media stocks.

Forbes was founded more than a century ago by the grandfather of editor-in-chief and presidential candidate Steve Forbes. In 2014, Forbes sold a 95% stake in Hong Kong-based Integrated Whale Media for $475 million.

Known for its leading magazine and contribution-based digital publishing model, Forbes has worked to diversify its revenues with licensing agreements, e-commerce and end-to-end efforts.P2C (selling products directly to customers). The company says it reaches 150 million people through its content and events.

Forbes is also known for its annual ranking of the world’s richest business tycoons.

It’s a category that Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao has found himself in lately: as of last month, Zhao has a net worth of about $96 billion Bitcoin Magazine reported. This number is a conservative estimate that doesn’t include personal crypto assets, making Zhao the richest businessman in the industry.

The investment by Binance, the exchange founded less than five years ago, is a sign that Zhao believes content generation will be a growth area in Web 3.0. The term refers to a more decentralized version of the internet that uses blockchain, which also underpins cryptocurrencies and NFTs.

“This is the first step into a market with real potential for the adoption of Web 3.0-based tools. Our industry has grown rapidly and we think it would be a mistake not to jump into areas where the time is right for infrastructure investment,” said a source.

Industry insiders say they expect a large number of deals this year as companies roll out the huge amount raised in recent fundraising rounds.

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