AlphaTON Capital Moves To Buy 51% Stake in Forbes To Build AI-Resistant, Web3-Powered Media Brand

Author: Benzinga Newsdesk | November 24, 2025 07:07am

AlphaTON Capital (NASDAQ:ATON), a specialized digital asset technology company focused on the Telegram ecosystem, today announced that it has submitted a Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire a 51% controlling interest in Forbes Media Holdings (FMH). The proposed acquisition is part of AlphaTON's broader strategy to build a verified, immutable media ecosystem resilient to the challenges of the AI era.

The offer outlines a two-phase acquisition strategy designed to build on the Forbes brand and integrate it into AlphaTON's growing media arm, which recently announced its intention to acquire Blockchain Wire.

Strategic Rationale

AlphaTON Capital's offer is driven by four key strategic pillars designed to build on the legacy media giant:

1. Building on a Major News Brand: Forbes is one of the world's most recognizable media and licensing brands. AlphaTON views FMH as the ideal cornerstone for a modern media empire that combines legacy prestige with Web3 innovation.
2. Licensing for AI and LLMs: As demand for high-quality, verified data to train Large Language Models (LLMs) skyrockets, Forbes' extensive archive of proprietary content represents a significant, underutilized asset. AlphaTON plans to leverage blockchain technology to license this data securely and transparently and encrypt all of Forbes' legacy and future content on the TON blockchain, and feed LLMs running on Telegram's Cocoon AI network.
3. Creating a Digital Asset News Powerhouse: The acquisition would position Forbes as the premier international organization for honest, data-driven business news, with a specialized focus on digital assets and cryptocurrency markets—a sector currently underserved by traditional legacy media.
4. Synergy with AlphaTON Media: The move aligns perfectly with the company's AlphaTON Media arm. By integrating Forbes with the recently announced LOI to acquire Blockchain Wire, AlphaTON aims to use blockchain technology to provide immutable, verified sources for content. This "proof of truth" approach is intended to combat disinformation and deepfakes in an increasingly AI-generated news cycle.

Management Commentary

"We believe that Forbes is a key component of our media approach," said Brittany Kaiser, CEO of AlphaTON Capital. "In an era of disinformation and AI-generated noise, the world needs a source of truth that is both trusted and technologically verified. By combining Forbes' legendary brand equity with our blockchain-based verification technologies, we can pioneer a new model for media integrity.

"The current state of financial data infrastructure suffers from inaccuracy. Despite AlphaTON Capital (ATON) having issued numerous press releases and SEC filings with updated information, we persistently observe errors and outdated details concerning our company's sector, board members, and other specifics across various financial news outlets and brokerage firms. AlphaTON Capital's Chairman and CIO, Enzo Villani, stated, "Our vision is to leverage the Forbes acquisition to establish a 'gold standard' for verified financial journalism and data. We plan to utilize blockchain technology to guarantee the accurate and immutable provenance of every article and all information related to a listed company, thereby creating a high-integrity data source essential for the future of AI."

"Forbes is one of the most powerful global media brands of the past 50 years," said Michael Terpin, board director at AlphaTON Capital. As media increasingly relies upon data and distribution, our ability to connect the brand with more than one billion users of Telegram and tokenize many of its assets will be a winning combination."

Transaction Structure

Subject to the satisfaction of conditions described in the LOI, AlphaTON proposes a two-phase acquisition:

• Phase 1: AlphaTON Capital would acquire 51% of the issued and outstanding equity interest in FMH and its subsidiaries. Payment would be made in United States Dollars (USD) or USD Stablecoin.
• Phase 2: Subject to the successful closing of Phase 1, AlphaTON would consider acquiring the remaining percentage of issued and outstanding shares of FMH equity.

 

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