Benzinga | Mar 23, 2021 10:00AM EDT

Telegram App Attracts $150M Abu Dhabi Fund Investment: Reuters

Abu Dhabi state fund, Mubadala Investment Co invested $75 million in five-year, pre-initial public offering (IPO) bonds of Telegram messaging app, while Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners, part-owned by Mubadala, invested a further $75 million, Reuters reports.

* Telegram and Signal messaging apps noted a spike in the 2021 user base amid privacy concerns with Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB)-owned WhatsApp.

* Launched in 2013, Telegram had 500 million monthly users as per Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners.

* Telegram, already headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, would open an office in Abu Dhabi following the new investment.

* Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners was a Mubadala joint venture with U.S. investment company Falcon Edge Capital. Mubadala contributed $15 billion to SoftBank Group Corp (OTC: SFTBY) (OTC: SFTBF) $100 billion Vision Fund in 2017. Mubadala last year acquired a 1.85% stake in Reliance Industries' digital unit, Jio Platforms, for $1.2 billion.

* Price action: FB shares traded lower by 0.75% at $291.38 in the premarket session on the last check Tuesday.