Grab is set to go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company that could value the Asia-based ride-hailing giant at more than $35 billion.
M. COREY GOLDMANUPDATED:APR 7, 2021 9:46 AM EDTORIGINAL:APR 7, 2021
Ride-hailing company Grab Holdings will go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, that could value the Asia-based ride-hailing giant at more than $35 billion, making it the largest ever blank-check deal.
The Financial Times reported Wednesday that Grab, which also offers food delivery and mobile digital payments services, will raise $2.5 billion in total financing, with nearly $1.2 billion coming via a SPAC owned by tech-focused venture capital firm Altimeter Capital.
Grab could finalize an agreement to list with one of Altimeter Capital’s SPACs as soon as this week, the FT said. Grab has so far raised about $12 billion and has some $5 billion in reserves, according to the FT.
Talk of a listing in the U.S. for Singapore-based Grab began back in January. Altimeter has backed two SPACs – Altimeter Growth and Altimeter Corp 2. Grab founder Anthony Tan will own 2% of the listed entity, according to the Financial Times.
SPACs, shell companies that raise funds through an IPO to take a private company public, have grown in popularity due to their streamlined approach that bypasses typical regulatory processes as well as expensive road shows put on by investment banks.
British online car retailer Cazoo last week said it would list on the New York Stock Exchange following a merger with New York-listed SPAC Ajax in a deal that valued Cazoo at $7 billion.
Other recent large SPAC deals include UMW Holdings $16 billion merger with a blank-check firm backed by billionaire Alec Gores, and the $24 billion deal that luxury electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors struck with a Michael Klein-backed SPAC.
While March was a rough month for SPACs, Jim Cramer said we’re at the point of saturation, where the bad special purpose acquisition companies are driving out the good ones.
