Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Grab plunges 21% in biggest Wall Street debut by a Southeast Asian company

Grab plunges 21% in biggest Wall Street debut by a Southeast Asian company

The Southeast Asian unicorn Grab had a rough first day on Wall Street. The Singaporean startup closed down nearly 21% Thursday as it began trading on New York's Nasdaq.

Grab went public by merging with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal — in which Grab raised $4.5 billion, and was valued at nearly $40 billion — was the biggest of its kind on record, according to data provider Dealogic. It's also the largest US market debut by a Southeast Asian company.

The previous record was held by an Indonesian satellite company, which raised nearly $1.2 billion in 1994, according to data from Refinitiv.

Under the deal, Grab merged with Altimeter Growth Corp (AGC), a SPAC launched by Altimeter Capital, a US investment firm. Shares in the company, now trading under the ticker symbol "GRAB," opened up Thursday nearly 20% above Altimeter's closing price the day before.

But they soon reversed direction, closing at $8.75 per share.

Grab took a relatively unconventional road to market, albeit one that has gained popularity over the past year. Combining with SPACs used to be sneered at on Wall Street, but recently a slew of major companies have chosen to take the same route, including Playboy, DraftKings, and electric vehicle startups Lucid Motors and Arrival.

SPACs are shell companies with limited or no operating assets. They usually go public solely to raise money from investors that is then used to buy existing businesses.

Regulators, though, have stepped up scrutiny of the process. The Securities and Exchange Commission, for example, has tightened its accounting guidance for SPACs, while lawmakers in Congress held a hearing on the matter.

That attention has caused SPAC activity to plummet, and more regulation could be on the way: Bills to tighten rules around SPACs are currently making their way through Congress. One proposal would compel blank check firms to disclose to retail investors the risks of backing shell companies, while another bill could boost their liability for making false or misleading forward-looking statements.

A 'super app'


Through its deal, Grab raised funds from investors including Fidelity, BlackRock, T. Rowe Price, Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and Singapore government investment arm Temasek.

Co-founders Anthony Tan and Hooi Ling Tan rang the exchange's opening bell in Singapore on Thursday night in a ceremony including Grab drivers and merchants.

The Malaysian entrepreneurs, who share a surname but are unrelated, founded Grab in 2012. It quickly soared to become Southeast Asia's most valuable private company.

Grab acquired Uber's Southeast Asia business in 2018, and has since expanded into a variety of other services, including food delivery, digital payments and even financial services.

In recent years, the firm has cast itself as a "super app," letting users do everything from booking rides to taking out insurance and loans. More than 25 million people use the app each month to make a transaction, across 465 cities in eight countries.

In an interview Thursday, chief financial officer Peter Oey said that the company would use the proceeds from the listing to double down on its existing playbook.

"We're just getting started in Southeast Asia," he told CNN Business.

Oey argues that there is still "huge opportunity" to grow the firm's core businesses at home. Grocery delivery services in the region are still in their infancy, he said. Meanwhile, ride-hailing in the region is far less established than in China, he added.

Oey also did not rule out the possibility of doing more mergers and acquisitions, noting that "strategic opportunities will come up."

Grab has previously said that it chose to go public in the United States, rather than in Southeast Asia, because it wanted to tap into a larger investor base.

But Oey said Thursday that the company wouldn't rule out the possibility of listing on another exchange at some point. "We're open to Southeast Asia and other opportunities," he added.

Still, the executive emphasized that the company would take it one step at a time.

"For us right now it's [about] making sure that we execute the business and stay focused, and support those shareholders who are in the ride with us," said Oey.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×