Binance, led by the richest crypto billionaire in the world, is holding $200 million shares of Forbes

BinanceThe world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is making a strategic investment of $200 million in Forbes104-year-old magazine and digital publisher, CNBC found out.

Funds will help Forbes make it happen plan to merge with a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, in the first quarter, according to people familiar with the deal.

Investors are increasingly skeptical of SPAC transactions Generally speakingand my communication transactionsspecific n, in recent months amid a broader stock market downturn. Binance will replace half of the $400 million pledged from institutional investors announced by Forbes in August, who said they declined to be identified before the transaction was announced. .

That would make Binance one of the two largest owners of Forbes, which will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “FRBS,” the people said. They said the crypto firm will also have two directors out of a total of nine board seats.

The move shows the growing real influence of the crypto sector, which has seen valuations skyrocket and created a new class of billionaires amid global interest in digital assets. digital. While crypto companies have gone public, stick their names on sports arena and flooded air wave With celebrity endorsements, this is the industry’s first major investment in traditional US media properties.

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 leading magazine and contributor-driven digital publishing model, Forbes has strived to diversify its revenue with licensing deals, e-commerce, and marketing efforts. direct access to consumers. 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 recently joined: Last month, Zhao’s net worth, who likes to use “CZ,” was pegged at 96 billion dollars by Bloomberg News. This number, a conservative estimate that does not include his personal crypto assets, makes him easily the richest businessman in the industry.

Binance’s investment, founded less than 5 years ago, is a sign that Zhao believes content generation will be an area of ​​growth. Web 3.0 evolution. The term refers to a more decentralized version of the internet that uses blockchain, which also underpins cryptocurrency and non-usable tokens, or NFTs.

“This is the first step in a market with really high potential for adoption of Web 3.0-based tools,” said one person with knowledge of Binance strategy. “Our industry has had a lot of growth and we think you have to be a fool not to put yourself in areas that are ripe for infrastructure investment.”

The company reached out to Forbes, which considered option including a full sale, after identifying three potential investment vehicles and content platforms, the people said.

Cryptocurrency insiders say that they expect a large amount of transactions this year as companies deploy huge amounts of money raised in recent fundraising rounds.