Binance crypto exchange to invest $200 million in Forbes

World’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance will make
an investment worth $200 million in Forbes, the 104-year-old magazine and digital
publisher announced on Thursday. The funds will allow Forbes to go public via a
special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

The investment by Binance will replace half of the $400
million in private placement commitments by Forbes and SPAC company Magnum Opus
Acquisition Limited (OPAN) in August.

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The deal is expected to close by the end of March 2022,
said Forbes and Magnum Opus in a statement. This deal will make Binance, one of
the top two biggest owners of Forbes. It will be listed on the New York Stock
Exchange under the ticker FRBS. The crypto firm will also get two directors out
of nine total board chairs.

Forbes had announced in August that it would go public
through a SPAC in an attempt to grow on its digital transition and take further
steps for growth.

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The transactions between Binance and Magnum Opus are
expected to help Forbes maximize its brand and enterprise values, the companies
said. Binance will help Forbes to build its digital asset and “Web3” strategy.
“Forbes is committed to demystifying the complexities and providing helpful
information about blockchain technologies and all emerging digital assets,”
said Mike Federle, CEO, of Forbes

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“We look forward to bolstering Forbes’ Digital
initiatives, as they evolve into a next-level investment insights platform,”
said Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, Founder and CEO, Binance.

Binance dropped a lawsuit against Forbes in February last
year. The exchange had sued Forbes and two of its journalists in 2020 over an
October story the magazine published about the exchange’s corporate structure.

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According to the statement, Binance’s two senior executives
– Chief Communications Officer Patrick Hillman and Bill Chin, the head of its
venture capital arm – will join Forbes’s board of directors once the deal is
closed.

The Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao tweeted a CNBC story about
the deal on Thursday to his 5.1 million followers.