Singapore FinTech Grab Mulling US IPO Of Up To $2 Billion

Singapore-based FinTech Grab is mulling a U.S. initial public offering of at least $2 billion in the wake of failed merger talks with Indonesian rival Gojek.

Sources told Reuters that Grab is looking to take advantage of the red-hot IPO market in the U.S. The pricing, size and timing of the deal have yet to be determined. If the company chooses to proceed, the IPO could be the largest market debut ever made by a Southeast Asian company on a foreign exchange.

Reuters added that the company declined to comment on its plans.

Reports of a possible IPO come in the wake of failed merger discussions with Gojek last month. Gojek has since moved on to engage in talks with Indonesia’s PT Tokopedia for a possible $18 billion merger that would also include an IPO, Bloomberg reported earlier this month.

Last week, Grab announced that its Grab Financial Group had raised $300 million in a Series A funding round led by Hanwha Asset Management and joined by K3 Ventures, GGV Capital, Arbor Ventures and Flourish Ventures.

Grab Financial Group offers payments and financial services including lending, insurance and retail wealth management throughout Southeast Asia. In its Series A funding announcement, Grab said it expects the group to reach its revenue potential of $60 billion by 2025. The company said revenue for the unit had shot up more than 40 percent during 2020, while the number of users for its new wealth management service, AutoInvest, doubled during the month of December.

Founded in Malaysia in 2012, Grab is also known for its popular ridesharing and delivery services. The business operates in several Asian countries, including Singapore, the Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia, according to its website.

Reuters said Grab’s ridesharing business is currently breaking even, and its food delivery business is expected to do so by the end of 2020.

Backed by mammoth investors SoftBank Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Grab is now valued at over $16 billion, Reuters added.

Last month, Grab and Singtel announced they had received a license to set up a digital bank in Singapore. Under the agreement, Grab will hold a 60 percent stake in the banking consortium, with Singtel holding the remaining 40 percent. The bank is expected to launch in early 2022.