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Grab weighs US listing through SPAC merger
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/grab-weighs-us-listing-through-spac-merger
SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) - Grab Holdings is exploring going public in the United States through a merger with a blank-cheque company as the South-east Asian ride-hailing and delivery giant seeks to expedite its listing process, according to people familiar with the matter.
JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley, which are already advising Grab on its initial public offering plans, are working with the start-up to identify special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) that it could combine with, the people said.
Still, a US listing via a traditional IPO is not off the table, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private.
Representatives for Grab and JPMorgan declined to comment, while a representative for Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Merging with a SPAC, a shell company whose sponsors raise money from investors in order to buy a private company and give it a berth on a public exchange, would allow Grab - South-east Asia's most valuable start-up backed by SoftBank Group - to accelerate its listing process.
Several of the region's tech unicorns including Traveloka are considering going public through blank-cheque companies to ride on the red-hot sentiment.
Sea Ltd's decade-long journey from a scrappy start-up to South-east Asia's most valuable company has inspired many Internet companies in the region to tap the capital markets to bankroll their expansion.
Singapore-based Sea, which runs mobile gaming and e-commerce businesses, went public in the US in 2017 after raising US$989 million (S$1.3 billion) and now has a market value of US$117 billion.
Grab's listing considerations come after talks to combine with Indonesian rival Gojek collapsed.
The latter start-up is now in advanced discussions to merge with local e-commerce pioneer Tokopedia instead, creating a powerful regional player in online services that may then seek to go public as well, Bloomberg News has reported.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/grab-weighs-us-listing-through-spac-merger
SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) - Grab Holdings is exploring going public in the United States through a merger with a blank-cheque company as the South-east Asian ride-hailing and delivery giant seeks to expedite its listing process, according to people familiar with the matter.
JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley, which are already advising Grab on its initial public offering plans, are working with the start-up to identify special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) that it could combine with, the people said.
Still, a US listing via a traditional IPO is not off the table, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private.
Representatives for Grab and JPMorgan declined to comment, while a representative for Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Merging with a SPAC, a shell company whose sponsors raise money from investors in order to buy a private company and give it a berth on a public exchange, would allow Grab - South-east Asia's most valuable start-up backed by SoftBank Group - to accelerate its listing process.
Several of the region's tech unicorns including Traveloka are considering going public through blank-cheque companies to ride on the red-hot sentiment.
Sea Ltd's decade-long journey from a scrappy start-up to South-east Asia's most valuable company has inspired many Internet companies in the region to tap the capital markets to bankroll their expansion.
Singapore-based Sea, which runs mobile gaming and e-commerce businesses, went public in the US in 2017 after raising US$989 million (S$1.3 billion) and now has a market value of US$117 billion.
Grab's listing considerations come after talks to combine with Indonesian rival Gojek collapsed.
The latter start-up is now in advanced discussions to merge with local e-commerce pioneer Tokopedia instead, creating a powerful regional player in online services that may then seek to go public as well, Bloomberg News has reported.
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