Singapore’s Grab to list in US through $40bn SPAC deal

SINGAPORE — Southeast Asia’s biggest unlisted startup, Grab, is to go public in the U.S. through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), the “superapp” developer announced Tuesday, a deal that will catapult the Singaporean company and the region’s fast-growing digital market into the global spotlight.

Grab will merge with Nasdaq-listed Altimeter Growth Corp., a “blank check” acquisition vehicle under the Silicon Valley-based investment firm Altimeter Capital. The deal values Grab at $39.6 billion, making it one of the most valuable companies in Southeast Asia. The listing will take place “in coming months”.

Grab joins a global boom in startups seeking a stock listing through SPACs, which provide a faster route to the stock market than a traditional initial public offering. Last month the operator of WeWork also announced a listing through this route. The…