Grab’s partnership is expected to be the largest US equity offering by a Southeast Asian firm
By: Tricia Ang | 14 April 2021
Grab Holdings, the Southeast Asian ride-hailing and food-delivery giant, revealed on Tuesday (April 13) that it plans to go public in the United States through a merger with US-based Altimeter Growth Corp.
Grab’s partnership is expected to be the largest US equity offering by a Southeast Asian firm, with a market value of about US$39.6 billion (S$53.2 billion)
The merger with the special purpose acquisition company (Spac) of investment firm Altimeter Capital Management is expected to provide up to US$4.5 billion in cash proceeds to Grab, the Singapore-headquartered company added in a press statement.
In the coming months, the merged entity expects to list its securities on the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index.
Grab group CEO and co-founder Anthony Tan said: “It gives us immense pride to represent South-east 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. This is even more critical as our region recovers from Covid-19.”
Grab’s formal announcement on Tuesday follows recent media reports that it was in talks with Altimeter on a Spac merger in order to list in the United States.
Grab received over US$4 billion in cash from a fully committed private investment in public equity led by Altimeter Capital Management and including Singapore state investor Temasek and leading Indonesian family groups.
T.Rowe Price Associates, Fidelity International, and Mubadala, the sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates, are among the other PIPE participants.
Altimeter is investing a total of US$750 million in the company, accounting for roughly one-fifth of the new funds raised.
Altimeter founder and CEO Brad Gerstner said: “As one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing internet companies, Grab is paving the digital path forward for the 670 million citizens of South-east Asia.
“We are thrilled that Grab selected Altimeter Capital Markets as their partner to go public and even more excited to become sizeable long-term owners in this innovative, mission driven company.”
Altimeter has also committed up to US$500 million to a contingent investment equal to the total dollar amount of Spac shareholder redemptions. Its sponsor shares are subject to a three-year lockup period, and it is also contributing shares to Grab’s GrabForGood fund, which seeks to implement programs with long-term social and environmental impact.
Mr Tan said that this demonstrates the aligned values which the two companies share: “They’re joining our journey for the long-run, together with an incredible day one cap table of renowned institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds.
“This is testament to the global investment community’s belief in the long-term value proposition of Grab’s superapp strategy and the exciting growth potential of South-east Asia.”
