BlackRock and Citadel Back Telegram’s $1.5 Billion Bond Fundraising, WSJ Reports

Telegram Targets $1.5 Billion Convertible Bond Raise with Backing from BlackRock, Citadel, and Mubadala

Telegram is moving forward with plans to raise at least $1.5 billion through a five-year bond issuance carrying a 9% yield, sources told the Wall Street Journal. The deal has drawn interest from heavyweight investors including BlackRock, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, and hedge fund Citadel.

The proceeds from this bond offering will be used to buy back debt from Telegram’s earlier 2021 bond issuance, which matures next March. The new bonds also feature a convertible option, enabling investors to convert their holdings into equity at a discount if Telegram goes public.

Telegram, which originally developed the TON blockchain (The Open Network) before spinning it off as a separate project, recently saw tokenization firm Libre announce plans to tokenize up to $500 million of Telegram’s debt via the Telegram Bond Fund (TBF) on TON.

The messaging platform now boasts over 1 billion monthly active users and has doubled its paying subscriber base to 15 million in the past year, according to founder Pavel Durov.

Financially, Telegram has made a strong turnaround: after a $173 million loss in 2023, it reported a $540 million profit on $1.4 billion in revenue in 2024, with projections of surpassing $700 million in profits in 2025.

Revenue growth is fueled by expanding advertising capabilities, introducing digital gifts, and growing a developer ecosystem that supports apps and bots.

Telegram and Citadel have not immediately responded to requests for comment.