Singaporean ride-hailing decacorn Grab on Monday announced that it has secured a USD 2 billion term loan facility from international institutional investors. JP Morgan served as the lead bookrunner, together with Barclays, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Mizuho, MUFG, and Standard Chartered.
The loan, which was upsized from the original principal amount of USD 750 million, is said to be the largest of its kind in the Asian technology sector and the first for Grab, according to a statement. “With their support, we will invest in building a long lasting, multi local services business, so that millions of Southeast Asians can support their families and improve their lives with our everyday services,” said CEO and co-founder Anthony Tan.
With the loan, Grab plans to strengthen its liquidity and diversify its financing sources. Earlier this month, the group’s financial arm raised USD 300 million investment in its Series A round led by South Korea’s Hanwha Asset Management. Grab also reported a jump of its total group net revenue of about 70% for 2020, largely driven by a strong food-delivery business.
According to Bloomberg, the company is seeking an initial public offering (IPO) in the US, that could raise USD 2 billion. People familiar with the matter said that Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan Chase & Co. have been selected to work on a listing that could happen in the second half of this year.
Grab is facing a heated battle with rival Gojek, which is reportedly in an advanced merger discussions with Indonesian e-commerce giant Tokopedia. A previously rumored union between the two raid-hailing decacorns, however, fell through mainly due to disagreement over management control.