Media: Telegram poised for IPO in 2025

A presentation has appeared online detailing Telegram Group Inc.’s preparations for an initial public offering (IPO) in the second to third quarters of 2025. The document is allegedly circulating via the Russian broker BCS World of Investments.

Investors are invited to purchase Telegram’s 2021 bonds, which can be converted into shares at the IPO with a guaranteed yield.

The following conversion scheme is envisaged:

• 10% discount if the IPO takes place before March 2024;
• 15% discount if the IPO occurs before March 2025;
• 20% discount if the IPO occurs before March 2026;
• bonds are redeemed in 2026 if the IPO does not occur.

The presentation notes that, at the time of signing the settlement contract, the underlying asset (Telegram bonds with a 7% coupon) had not been acquired. If BCS fails to acquire the underlying asset, clients are promised a refund with a 3% annual yield.

According to the memo, 100% of Telegram Group Inc. is owned by Pavel Durov. The company’s total liabilities amount to $2 billion.

Among the listed monetization channels for Telegram are:

• contextual advertising;
• premium features for organisations and communities;
• partnership with The Open Network, including the sale of nicknames and logins on the platform Fragment, as well as the addition cryptocurrency wallet;
• creation of bots for purchases within the messenger.

In addition, Telegram’s team plans to allow advertising in Stories, expand premium account functionality for teams, and launch a payment service in India for P2P and P2M transactions, with the participation of an unnamed major local player.

The Bondholders’ Association, in a comment to РБК, confirmed that BCS clients had received such a presentation.

«We are recording investor inquiries to whom the broker is offering such a product», said a company spokesperson.

The repost of the document was сделал Georgy Lobushkin — former PR director of the social network “VKontakte”, one of whose co-founders is Pavel Durov.

Rumors about Telegram planning to conduct an IPO emerged as early as in 2021. At that time, as venues for the initial public offering, the company considered Nasdaq and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

In March 2021, Telegram raised more than $1 billion through the sale of convertible bonds.

The largest investors were funds from the United Arab Emirates — Mubadala Investment Company and Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners. In total they bought bonds worth $150 million.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund acquired a minority stake in Mubadala Investment Company’s investments worth about $2 million.