Binance, led by the world’s richest crypto billionaire, is taking a $200 million stake in Forbes
Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, is making a $200 million strategic investment in Forbes, the 104-year old magazine and digital publisher, CNBC has learned.
The funds will help Forbes execute on its plan to merge with a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, in the first quarter, according to people with knowledge of the deal.
Investors have grown skeptical of SPAC deals generally, and media deals in particular, in recent months amid the broader stock market retrenchment. Binance will replace half of the $400 million in commitments from institutional investors announced by Forbes in August, said the people, who declined to be identified before the transaction is announced.
That will make Binance one of the top two biggest owners of Forbes, which will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker «FRBS,» the people said. The crypto company will also get two directors out of nine total board seats, they said.
The move shows the increasing real-world influence of the crypto sector, which has seen surging valuations and minted a new class of billionaires amid global interest in digital assets. While crypto companies have gone public, affixed their names to sports arenas and flooded airwaves with celebrity endorsements, this is the sector's first big investment in a traditional U.S. media property.
Forbes was founded more than a century ago by the grandfather of editor-in-chief and two-time presidential candidate Steve Forbes. In 2014, Forbes sold a 95% stake to Hong Kong-based Integrated Whale Media at a valuation of $475 million.
Known for its flagship magazine and a digital publishing model that relies on contributors, Forbes has worked to diversify its revenue with
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