Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Mubadala (the Abu Dhabi government’s sovereign investment fund) announced, on Tuesday, a $ 75 million investment in the company that operates the social media app, Telegram, according to the official Emirates News Agency (WAM). ).
WAM stated that Mubadala’s investment in Telegram will be in the form of bonds convertible into shares for a period of 5 years prior to the planned IPO, in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners Fund, which will also invest $ 75 million in the platform.
The “Telegram” application is an encrypted messaging platform that has gained more than 25 million additional users recently, following the notification of the messaging application “WhatsApp” owned by “Facebook” its users in January to update the terms of service and privacy policy, which is imposed on people. Agree to it in order to continue using the app.
Telegram, which has more than 500 million monthly active users, was founded by the Russian brothers Pavel and Nikolai Dorov in 2013, and today the platform is headquartered in Dubai.
“We value Pavel’s vision for the company and the hard work of his team to build an innovative product and an exceptional company,” Faris Suhail Al Mazrouei, head of the investment program in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States of Mubadala, was quoted by the Emirates News Agency as saying, “By focusing on the user experience and privacy and stressing the importance of this. The elements in every business decision he makes, Pavel has succeeded in enhancing the popularity and success of the Telegram app, so that its user base grows significantly, making it a strong competitor to the global technology giants.
Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Telegram, said: “We are honored that Mubadala and Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners have invested $ 150 million in Telegram bonds. We look forward to developing this strategic partnership to continue our growth path in the MENA region and the world.”
James Mons, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners, said: “The Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners Fund aims to build fruitful partnerships with promising companies that have strong growth prospects around the world and have the necessary capabilities to boost the growing technology ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and the Abu Dhabi market. Al-Alamy, “adding:” We see in Telegram an attractive investment opportunity. “
