Tiket.com Reportedly Wants To Merge With Djarum's Blibli, Owned By The Hartono Brothers Conglomerate, Will IPO IDR 14.3 Trillion?

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Tiket.com is reportedly exploring a merger with e-commerce from the Djarum Group owned by the Hartono Brothers conglomerate, PT Global Digital Niaga aka Blibli.

Quoted from Bloomberg, Saturday 9 April. It was stated that the exploration of the merger plan with Blibli was carried out after the discussions of Tiket.com with the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) or the blank-check company failed to continue. Tiket.com has the opportunity to be combined with Blibli, ahead of the planned initial public offering on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX).

A Bloomberg source said the initial public offering for the combined company could be worth around $1 billion.

The two companies rely on Indonesian conglomerate Djarum Group for support. Tiket.com was previously said to be considering going public through a merger with SPAC, but the startup's discussions with COVA Acquisition Corp. has ended.

A Bloomberg source said negotiations are ongoing and no final decision has been made. COVA and Tiket representatives declined to comment, Blibli representatives did not immediately respond to requests.

As for if the IPO plan is successful, then Blibli will add to the list of jumbo IPOs on the IDX. Soon PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk. (GOTO) will list its initial shares on Monday 11 April.

Along with a possible SPAC merger option, Tiket.com is also exploring a traditional IPO as well as the possibility of merging with one of Southeast Asia's super apps, Chief Executive Officer George Hendrata told Bloomberg TV in May.

Tiket.com was founded in 2011, and was acquired in 2017 by the Djarum Group. The Ticketing Platform allows consumers to purchase tickets for flights and trains as well as hotel rooms and events such as concerts. The company has a network of more than 90 airlines, 2.8 million hotels and other lodging.

Blibli was previously reported to be working with Credit Suisse Group AG and Morgan Stanley in the IPO plan. Founded in 2011, Blibli is an online mall for goods including electronics and lifestyle products, and works with more than 100,000 business partners.