10:19 - 30.08.2024

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August 30, Fineko/abc.az. The arrest and charges brought against Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov in France have dealt a significant blow to the company's plans for a successful IPO, resulting in substantial losses for bondholders, ABC.AZ reports, citing the Financial Times (FT).

In 2023, Telegram's revenues reached $342 million, but the company still incurred operating losses of $108 million. After taxes, Telegram's total losses for the year amounted to approximately $173 million.

The financial losses were partially offset by the growth in the value of digital assets held on Telegram's balance sheet, which reached nearly $400 million in 2023. The company also sold its native cryptocurrency, Toncoin, for around $244 million in cash in 2024, as reported by FT based on financial documents. Toncoin was initially developed by the Telegram team.

The price of Telegram's bonds plummeted by almost 10 percentage points, trading at around 87 cents per dollar, corresponding to a yield of over 16% compared to approximately 96 cents before Durov's arrest.