Grab in Talks to Go Public via SPAC Merger

The technology platform and ride-hailing giant is reportedly considering a merger with an SPAC, but a U.S. listing via a traditional IPO is not off the table.

J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley, which are advising Grab on its IPO plans, are in the midst of identifying special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) for the company to merge with to accelerate its listing process, according to a «Bloomberg» report on Thursday.

The Softbank-backed company’s listing considerations come after talks to combine with Indonesian rival Gojek collapsed, the report said. The latter is now in advanced discussions to merge with local e-commerce pioneer Tokopedia instead.

SPACs are shell companies, also known as blank check companies, that go public on a stock exchange in order to then buy private companies, which are then listed virtually through the back door.

They are also the hottest trend on Wall Street: the proceeds of SPAC IPOs grew from $14.7 billion across 96 issues in 2019, to $79.3 billion across 256 issues in 2020, according to data from Refinitiv. SPAC mergers also grew in value from $34.5 billion across 87 deals in 2019, to $157.5 billion across 163 deals in 2020.

Asian Bourses Consider Listing

The Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing is reviewing the possibility of adding SPACs to its offering while the Singapore Exchange could list them as early as this year.