UPSC Prelims and Mains

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Telegram hopes to raise $1bn with a convertible bond private placement

The super secure UAE-based Telegram messenger service, developed by Russian-born software icon Pavel Durov, is looking to raise $1bn through a bond placement to a limited number of investors from Russia, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the Kommersant daily reported citing unnamed sources on February 18, 2021.The issue reportedly comprises exchange bonds that could be converted into equity in the messaging service that is currently 100% owned by Durov and his brother Nikolai.Kommersant reports that the price of the conversion would be at a 10% discount to a potential IPO should it happen within five years.The minimum bond placement is said to be set at $50mn, but could be lowered to $10mn. Five-year bonds could carry an annual coupon of 7-8%.

Telegram announces Anonymous Admins

The cloud-based messaging platform is also adding Anonymous Group Admins feature. As per Telegram, this feature is being introduced for safer protests. As per the Telegram blog post, users can “Toggle Remain Anonymous in Admin rights to enable Batman mode. The anonymized admin will be hidden in the list of group members, and their messages in the chat will be signed with the group name, similar to channel posts.”