Stablecoin giant Tether has made a strategic investment of $775 million in Rumble, a popular free speech video-sharing platform and YouTube competitor.
The partnership aims to drive growth and innovation in the video streaming platform, and establish a meaningful advertising, cloud, and crypto payment solutions relationship with Rumble.
$250 million of the strategic investment will be used to support Rumble’s growth initiatives, and the remaining amount will be used to fund a self-tender offer for up to 70 million shares of Rumble’s Class A Common Stock at $7.50 per share.
According to a company blog announcing the investment, "Rumble’s existing Board and governance structure, including Chris Pavlovski’s super-majority voting control, will remain unchanged following the closing of the transaction and Tether will own a minority position in our outstanding common stock but will not have the right to designate any members of the Board."
The investment and the tender offer are expected to close in the first quarter of 2025.
"I truly believe Tether is the perfect partner that can put a rocket pack on the back of Rumble as we prepare for our next phase of growth," Pavlovski said.
"Legacy media has increasingly eroded trust, creating an opportunity for platforms like Rumble to offer a credible, uncensored alternative," said Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino. "Beyond our initial shareholder stake, Tether intends to drive towards a meaningful advertising, cloud, and crypto payment solutions relationship with Rumble."
RUM shares rocketed higher by 41% in after hours action to $10.13.