Binance Invested $200 Million In Forbes: Report

Binance invested $200 million in Forbes and this new deal will make the exchange one of the biggest owners of the publisher so let’s read furhter in our latest Binance news.

The world’s biggest crypto exchange Binance invested $200 million in the digital publisher and magazine Forbes. As per CNBC reports, the strategic investment will make the exchange one of the biggest owners of Forbes with the exchange getting two directors out of nine board seats as a new part of the publisher’s plan to merge with SPAC, Magnum Opus Acquisition Limited. After the SPAC merger, Forbes will get listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker FBRS. The CEO of Forbes miek Ferdele said:

“With Binance’s investment in Forbes, we now have the experience, network and resources of the world’s leading crypto exchange and one of the world’s most successful blockchain innovators.”

#Binance is taking a $200 million stake in @Forbes.

“This is the first step into a marketplace that has really high potential when it comes to adoption of Web 3.0 based tools”https://t.co/mDIRMHC4dT

— Binance (@binance) February 10, 2022

Forbes described itself as a global media company that is focused on busienss, technology, investing, lifestyle and entrepreneurship. The publisher is noted for the ranking of the world’s billionaires so the CEO Changpeng Zhao has yet to make the list and Bloomberg’s Index estimates his wealth at $96 billion. The investment by Binance reflects the growing cryptocurrency sector which has put millions into lobbying, acquisitions, and sports sponsorships. The M&A moves are now extending outside of the narrow confines of the entire crypto space and last month we even reported that BitMEX is looking to acquire Bankhaus von der Heydt as one of the oldest banks in Germany.

Binance’s acquisition of Forbes came with the exchange wrestling with the regulatory issues. Last month, Reuters reproted that Zhao ignored concerns raised by senior employees over the KYC checks of the exchange among other regulatory shortcomings. In 2020, Binance filed a defamation suit against Forbes as well as two other reporters over a story dubbed “Leaked Tai Chi” document which shows that Binance performed a scheme to evade BTC regulators. However, the exchange claimed that it contained plenty of false and misleading statements about the platform. Zhao denied all allegations and dismissed them as “FUD.”

Zhao claimed that the article hinges on a third-party document that was not produced by Binance employees, saying that anyone can produce a strategy document but it doesn’t mean that exchange will most certainly follow it. In a statement announcing the investment in Forbes, Zhao said:

“As Web 3 and blockchain technologies move forward and the crypto market comes of age we know that media is an essential element to build widespread consumer understanding and education.”