Grab will make its RM167 billion Nasdaq debut tonight

If you’re in Malaysia, or just Southeast Asia (SEA) in general, then you’ll be no stranger to Grab. The ride-hailing and delivery tech firm has announced that they will make its Nasdaq (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) debut today. The bell-ringing ceremony in Singapore will happen at 10pm to 10:30pm local Malaysian time, and the company will officially start trading after the ceremony. About 1,500 Grab employees and partners will also be featured on the Nasdaq Tower in Times Square, New York City today.

This listing has been in the making for a while, with an announcement all the way back in April of this year and it is expected to be the largest ever US equity offering by a Southeast Asian company.

Grab decided to get listed with the help of a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) instead of an IPO (initial public offering). That basically means that they’re doing it with an investment company rather than an investment bank.

Nasdaq is the second-biggest stock exchange in the world, following the New York Stock Exchange, in which Grab listed back in October 2017. The Nasdaq listing follows a USD 39.6 billion (RM167 billion) merger with a SPAC called Altimeter Growth. Grab will be listed on Nasdaq with the ticker symbol ‘GRAB’.

To give you some history about the company, Grab started as an app called ‘MyTeksi’ and was founded by two Malaysians: Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling. After rebrands and expansions, Grab now follows the ‘super app’ model which offers food deliveries and even financing. The company is currently headquartered in Singapore. Uber, a longstanding competitor, sold their SEA business and became a Grab shareholder in 2018.

Through this merger, Grab also raised USD 4.5 billion (about RM19 billion) in proceeds, including USD 4 billion (about RM17 billion) in private investment in public equity. 

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