Southeast Asia’s largest ride-hailing and food delivery firm Grab Holdings on Tuesday, April 13, confirmed its US$40 billion merger with a publicly-listed shell company backed by Altimeter Capital, marking the biggest ever deal with a blank check firm.
The merger, the biggest blank-check company deal ever, underscores the frenzy on Wall Street as shell firms have raised $99 billion in the United States so far this year after a record $83 billion in 2020.
Singapore-based Grab’s agreement with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) backed by Altimeter Capital includes a more than $4 billion private investment in public equity by investors including BlackRock, Fidelity International, Janus Henderson Investors and Temasek Holdings.
The offering is led by $750 million from funds managed by Altimeter Capital. The transactions will provide Grab with about $4.5 billion in cash proceeds.
Grab said its decision to become a public company was driven by a strong financial performance in 2020, despite the pandemic. Reuters earlier reported that Grab would announce the deal on Tuesday.
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