(June 16): Binance Holdings Ltd’s agreement to invest US$200 million in Forbes is “changing” after the publisher’s deal to go public via a so-called SPAC fell through, the crypto exchange’s Chief Executive Officer Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao said.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Zhao reiterated that Binance still wants to make the investment, though he didn’t give any details on how the terms would change.

“It’s changed a little bit, but I believe that’s still in discussions,” Zhao said, noting that Binance’s commitment to invest in Forbes was part of a broader strategy to invest in traditional media outlets. 

Binance has also pledged to contribute around US$500 million to Elon Musk’s US$44 billion buyout of Twitter Inc, though sentiment around whether that deal will still go ahead has soured in recent weeks. Musk has complained of rampant spam bot networks dominating the social network, and cast doubt on whether Twitter’s user base is as big as the company claims.

“The Twitter deal, I don’t know what’s happening there but we’re still hoping that’ll come through,” Zhao added. “He’s leading, we’re following. If it goes through with the deal then we’re committed, if he doesn’t, then we’re off.” 

When asked if he was disappointed by Musk’s apparent lack of appetite for completing the buyout, the Binance boss responded: “A little bit to be honest, yeah, we were hoping to contribute to Twitter somehow.”

Forbes had agreed to go public last year through a merger with blank-check firm Magnum Opus Acquisition Ltd, a process through which Binance had expected to contribute US$200 million in a strategic investment and take two Forbes board seats. Forbes announced on June 1 that its shareholders had terminated the deal with Magnum Opus. 

Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, competes with Forbes in providing news and financial information.