Crypto exchange Binance to invest $200 mln in U.S. media firm Forbes (updated)

Magnum Opus Acquisition

10/02/2022 14:12

(Adds details, comment)
    By Tom Wilson
    LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Major cryptocurrency exchange
Binance will make a $200 million investment in Forbes, the media
company said on Thursday, as it prepares to go public via a
special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
    The investment by Binance, the world's biggest
cryptocurrency exchange by trading volumes, will replace half of
the $400 million in private placement commitments already
announced by Forbes and SPAC company Magnum Opus Acquisition
Limited  OPA.N . 
    The deal is expected to close by the end of March, Forbes
and Magnum Opus said in a statement.
    Forbes said in August https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbespr/2021/08/26/forbes-to-become-public-company-through-business-combination-with-special-purpose-acquisition-company-magnum-opus/?sh=1eeb2f20320e
 that it would go public via a SPAC in an attempt to build on
its digital transition and pursue further chances for growth.
    "The transactions with Magnum Opus and Binance are expected
to help Forbes maximize its brand and enterprise values," the
companies said.
    Binance will help advise Forbes on its digital asset and
"Web3" strategy, they added, referring to a still-unrealised
version of the internet where blockchain-based "decentralised"
apps and cryptocurrencies are widely used.
    SPACs are shell companies that raise money in an initial
public offering (IPO) and put it in a trust for the purpose of
merging with a private company and taking it public.
    In February last year, Binance dropped a lawsuit https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.njd.451469/gov.uscourts.njd.451469.6.0.pdf
 against Forbes. It had in 2020 sued Forbes https://www.tbstat.com/wp/uploads/2020/11/Binance_Complaint.pdf
 and two of its journalists for defamation over an October story
the magazine published regarding the exchange's corporate
structure. 
    Two senior Binance executives - Chief Communications Officer
Patrick Hillman and Bill Chin, the head of its venture capital
arm - will join Forbes's board of directors on the closing of
the deal, the statement said.
    "I can confirm Forbes's editorial independence will remain
sacrosanct, and entirely independent from Binance," Binance
spokesperson Simon Matthews told Reuters.
    On Thursday, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao tweeted a CNBC story
on the deal to his 5.1 million followers. He later posted a
thumbs-up emoji in reply to a post that said "need to set the
right narrative discarding the fake news".
         

 (Reporting by Tom Wilson; editing by Sujata Rao, Bernadette
Baum and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
 ((T.Wilson@thomsonreuters.com; (44) 20 7513 5676; Reuters
Messaging: t.wilson.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))