Grab announced today that it will merge with Altimeter Growth Corporation (NASDAQ: AGC) in a deal that will place a USD 39.6 billion valuation on the Southeast Asian company.
“It gives us immense pride to represent Southeast Asia in the global public markets. This is a milestone in our journey to open up access for everyone to benefit from the digital economy,” said Grab Group CEO and co-founder Anthony Tan in a statement. Grab expects its shares to be traded on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol GRAB.
The deal involves around USD 4.5 billion in cash proceeds for Grab. The amount includes more than USD 4.0 billion from a fully committed private investment in public equity (PIPE) offering from BlackRock, Counterpoint Global, T. Rowe Price, Malaysia’s Permodalan Nasional Berhad, and Singapore’s Temasek, among others.
Altimeter Growth Capital, which was sponsored by Silicon Valley investment firm Altimeter Capital Management, raised USD 500 million in its September initial public offering.
Rumors of Grab and ACG’s union have been reported since last month, with Grab eyeing a spot on a US exchange this year, aiming to raise at least USD 2 billion. The company, which is backed by SoftBank and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, is currently valued at more than USD 16 billion. In February, it secured a USD 2 billion term loan facility in a round led by JP Morgan.
Grab showed strong business recovery in the second half of last year, when parts of Southeast Asia were still reeling from the pandemic’s indiscriminate wrath. The company reported a 70% bump in net revenue, driven by a steady food-delivery business. Its financial arm raised USD 300 million in a Series A round in January, a month after its joint venture with Singaporean telecom company Singtel was granted a digital full bank license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Gojek, Grab’s Indonesian rival, is eyeing a dual listing in the US and Indonesia after a merger with e-commerce platform Tokopedia. The two companies have a combined valuation of around USD 18 billion. Gojek and Tokopedia’s executives briefed their employees about the matter in a town hall meeting last week, and are currently awaiting the nod from shareholders, local media outlet Tempo reported.
Gojek and Tokopedia share several investors, including Temasek Holdings, Sequoia Capital, and Google.
