Crypto exchange Binance invests $200 million in Forbes ahead of the magazine's SPAC merger plans

• Binance is investing $200 million in Forbes.
• The investment comes ahead of the magazine's blank-check merger later this quarter.

Binance is investing $200 million in Forbes Global Media ahead of the magazine's blank-check merger later this quarter, according to an announcement Thursday.

The deal will help the 104-year-old magazine carry out its plans to merge with publicly-traded SPAC Magnum Opus. The transaction is aimed to further capitalize on Forbes' ongoing digital transformation through proprietary technology stack and analytics, among others. CNBC was first to report Thursday.

The stake makes Binance one of the top two biggest owners of Forbes. The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange will also get two directors out of nine total board seats: Patrick Hillmann, chief communications officer for Binance; and Bill Chin, head of Binance Labs, the venture capital arm and incubator of the exchange.

The amount will replace half of the $400 million private investment in public equity, or PIPE, that institutional investors had initially pledged when Forbes announced the SPAC deal in August 2021. The overall size of the PIPE will remain at $400 million, the latest announcement said.

The business news organization, which publishes Forbes magazine, is expected to raise approximately $600 million in gross proceeds.

"As Web 3 and blockchain technologies move forward and the crypto market comes of age we know that media is an essential element to build widespread consumer understanding and education," Changpeng Zhao, founder and CEO of Binance, said in a statement.

The combined firms will continue to be led by the current management team and will retain the Forbes name. Upon the closing of the transaction, Forbes will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "FRBS."

Forbes said it will also use its funds to "convert readers into long-term, engaged users of the platform, including through memberships and recurring subscriptions to premium content and highly targeted product offerings."

The digital publisher is best known for curating lists of wealthy business icons and influential leaders around the world. The brand reaches more than 150 million people and covers 76 countries.