Ride-hailing app Grab seals USD40 billion SPAC merger

Saturday, 13 Apr, 2021 0

After weeks of speculation, Southeast Asian ride hailing giant Grab announced it will go public in the largest ever SPAC merger deal.

It will be listed in the US via a SPAC merger with Altimeter Growth Corp which values the company at nearly $40 billion.

Grab will list on the Nasdaq under ticker ‘GRAB.’

A SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) is a shell company set up to raise capital to acquire private businesses.

"We found this was the better way to an IPO," Grab CEO Anthony Tan said of the blank check merger and SPAC listing.

As part of the deal Gab will receive about $4.5 billion in cash.

Grab’s core business is ride hailing and food delivery across major markets in Southeast Asia including Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

In recent years it has transformed into a ‘superapp’ comprising microfinance, hotel bookings, parcel delivery and e-commerce.

Its main regional rival is Indonesia’s Go-Jek which is also mulling a multi-billion dollar merger ahead of a possible IPO.

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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

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