Grab Holdings Inc. is in the process of unveiling a merger with a SPAC, which could value the South Asian start-up venture to as much as $ 40 billion, making it by far the largest such deal.
The Singapore company is discussing a deal with a specialty acquisition company affiliated with Altimeter Capital Management MP, which, according to people familiar with it, will value between $ 35 billion and $ 40 billion. (Altimeter has two spaces; it is not possible to learn which one is in conversation with Grab.)
As part of the deal, Grab would raise between $ 3 billion and $ 4 billion in a so-called PIPE, a round of funding usually associated with a merger of the SPAC, the people said. The amount may still change, as Grab and Altimeter will soon meet with mutual funds and other potential investors.
The parties could announce the deal within the next few weeks, though talks could still fall apart and Grab could return to an earlier plan to hold a traditional exchange on a U.S. exchange this year.
Should they continue with a SPAC deal, it is the highest watermark in a recent explosion of such transactions, in which an empty shell raises money in an initial public offering with plans to later find one or more companies to work with to melt. In some cases, the SPAC ends up with only a small chunk of the newly public target.
So far this year, a record $ 70 billion has been raised for SPACs, which, according to Dealogic, account for more than 70% of all public stock sales. A number of companies are in talks about a merger of SPAC or have already agreed on one, including the office division WeWork, the online photobook manufacturer Shutterfly Inc.
In addition to drive delivery, Grab, founded in 2011, delivers groceries and other items and provides digital financial services to retailers.
Its supporters include SoftBank Group Corp.
, Uber Technologies Inc.
a Toyota Motor Corp.
According to PitchBook, it was last valued at around $ 15 billion in the fundraising round in October 2019.
Heights’ spaces – Height growth Corp.
and Altimeter Growth Corp. – raised $ 450 million and $ 400 million in October and January bursaries, respectively. Altimeter Capital, of Menlo Park, California, has approximately $ 16 billion under management and invests primarily in technology companies.
The firm has built up a number of successful investments and was one of the key participants in a Roblox financing round in January Corp.
raised $ 45 per share before his wallet. In its debut on Wednesday, shares of the video game platform traded more than 50% above that level and rose further on Thursday morning.
The Japanese SoftBank, which has invested through its Vision Fund, also plans to win big on Grab.
Private companies are flocking to specialty procurement firms, or SPACs, to circumvent the traditional IPO process and get a public listing. WSJ explains why some critics say it is not worth investing in these so-called blank check businesses. Illustration: Zoë Soriano / WSJ
Write to Maureen Farrell by [email protected]
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