There Is Support From A Large Indonesian Conglomerate To Invest In Grab

Grab. (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - The ride-hailing company Grab officially announced its plan to go public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) scheme on NASDAQ with a value of nearly $ 40 billion. It turns out that behind the plan there is support from Indonesian conglomerates.

According to Reuters data, more than $ 4.5 billion has been raised from several global investor giants such as BlackRock, T. Rowe, and Fidelity International and sovereign wealth funds such as Mubadala and Temasek.

Interestingly, several prominent conglomerates from Indonesia participated, such as Djarum, the Sariaatmadja family that owns Emtek, and the Sinar Mas group.

This was explained by Grab in its press statement on Friday, April 23, stating that a row of companies was involved in raising funds for Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) which reached $ 4 billion.

Grab's decision to become a public company was driven by solid financial performance in 2020. Grab recorded a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of around $ 12.5 billion, better than before the pandemic.

"We always believe in long-term cooperation that will have a big impact. We are working with the government to support the national agenda and also partnering with some of the best blue-chip companies in the world", said Grab Group CEO Anthony Tan in the statement.

Decacorn targets to be listed on the US stock exchange by July 2021. Grab's efforts to become a public company are being carried out in collaboration with Altimeter Growth.

In Grab's statement, Altimeter was committed to holding shares owned by its sponsors for three years. Then 10 percent of the shares will be used for GrabForGood funds which are intended for various long-term social and environmental programs.

The presence of local investors shows confidence in the future of Grab, especially in Indonesia. This is an interesting development, especially when the news about the Gojek-Tokopedia merger and their IPO (Initial Public Offering) plans on the Indonesia Stock Exchange is busy.