Grab Holdings, the Southeast Asian delivery giant, is considering a secondary listing in its Singapore domestic market after completing a listing on the Nasdaq through a $ 40 billion SPAC merger, three sources familiar with the matter said.
Listing on the Singapore Exchange (SGXL.SI) would allow Grab to have an investor base close to where its regional business is based, according to people, which can offer its customers, drivers and trading partners easier access to trade. their actions.
Grab, a name known throughout Southeast Asia, is in the early stages of considering a secondary listing in the city-state, the sources said, refusing to be identified as they were not allowed to speak of the city. theme.
Grab and SGX declined to comment on the tab plans.
“For the right issuer, a secondary quote could be a good move. You can get the best of both worlds,” said Raymond Tong, a partner in capital markets and mergers and acquisitions law firm Rajah & Tann Singapore .
“If your local markets are in this region, a Singapore listing can help you take advantage of another group of investors, as there are many family offices and funds based in Singapore,” Tong said.
Possible listing plans in Singapore come after Grab this week produced a $ 40 billion merger with Altimeter Growth Corp. (AGC.O), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), which holds the record for the largest SPAC agreement in the world. Read more
As part of the transaction, Grab is raising $ 4 billion from investors, including BlackRock (BLK.N), Temasek Holdings, Fidelity International, Permodalan Nasional Bhd of Malaysia and some of Indonesia’s richest family groups.
Grab, which started as a specialty business in 2012, now operates in eight countries and more than 400 cities and has expanded into food and grocery delivery as well as digital payments. Last year he won a digital banking license in Singapore.
It was unclear how much it could try to increase Grab on any secondary quote, with financial terms and timing still in the early stages of consideration, sources said.
The company with the highest valuation on the Singapore stock exchange is the bank DBS Group Ltd (DBSM.SI), which currently has a market capitalization of about $ 74 billion ($ 55.4 billion).
One source said that while Grab has enough cash reserves and could end up raising only a small amount on SGX, a quote would mark a big win for the stock market.
SGX has mainly only seen large real estate stock market entries. Obstructed by a small base of retail investors in the city-state, it has struggled with low liquidity and valuations, forcing a range of layoffs and also discouraging listings of large inflows of high-growth regional companies.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange, however, has benefited from diplomatic and political tensions between the United States and China that have led many Chinese companies to seek secondary quotes in Hong Kong. Global fund managers have also shifted China’s holdings from Wall Street to Hong Kong. Read more
SGX has taken many steps to try to grow the stock market in recent years and, under executive director Loh Boon Chye, who was appointed six years ago, has acquired companies to transform itself into a multi-asset stock market.
In the last three years, companies listed on SGX have raised nearly four times more funds in the secondary market than with primary fundraising.
There are currently 28 companies listed secondary to SGX, including IHH Healthcare Bhd of Malaysia (IHHH.KL) and Top Glove Corp Bhd (TPGC.KL) and Hong Kong conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings (JARD.SI).
Last year, AMTD International became the first NYSE listed company to trade on SGX. It also became the first to take advantage of a double-class stock structure in Singapore.
($ 1 = $ 1,3351 Singapore)
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