BlackRock, one of the world’s largest Bitcoin holders, is reportedly participating in a bond raise by crypto-friendly messenger Telegram. Telegram is expected to raise at least $1.5 billion in a bond issue on May 28, with support from existing backers like BlackRock and Abu Dhabi’s investment firm Mubadala, The Wall Street Journal reported . As part of the sale, Telegram is offering investors five-year bonds at a 9% yield, the report said, citing sources familiar with the matter. Telegram plans to use the proceeds to buy back remaining debt from bonds issued in 2021, which are due to mature in March 2026. Discounts for potential Telegram IPO Apart from existing Telegram bondholders like BlackRock and Mubadala, the sale is also expected to bring new investors, including the US hedge fund firm Citadel. The WSJ report came weeks after Bloomberg first reported on Telegram's bond sale in late April, with sources claiming that the company was holding investor meetings about a bond sale worth about $2 billion to refinance its debut debt offering from 2021. According to the Financial Times, Telegram’s new bond offering will allow investors to buy shares in a potential initial public offering at a 20% discount, mirroring the terms of previous bond sales. Telegram CEO to return to Dubai While Telegram has not issued any official statement regarding the bond sale, its CEO, Pavel Durov, has teased the public with his upcoming visit to Dubai next week. Soon after the WSJ broke the news, Durov took to X to deliver a short statement: “I’ll be in Dubai the first week of June — good news ahead.” Source: Pavel Durov The expected visit would mark Durov’s second entrance to Dubai since the Telegram CEO was arrested in France in August 2024 and prohibited from leaving the country amid an ongoing probe into the messenger. Durov previously traveled to Dubai after receiving permission to do so from a French court in March. This is a developing story; further information will be added as it becomes available. Magazine: Bitcoin bears eye $69K, CZ denies WLF ‘fixer’ rumors: Hodler’s Digest, May 18 – 24
