KUALA LUMPUR – After a high US$13.06 (RM55.26) opening on Thursday night, Grab Holdings Ltd saw a rough first day with a dip of more than 20% when it closed for trading on New York’s Nasdaq, Bloomberg reported yesterday.
It also meant that Grab co-founder Anthony Tan, who was a Singapore billionaire for a short time, saw his stake go below the billion mark.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index reported that Grab lost US$17 billion in market value and Tan’s stake landed at US$725 million. Grab closed at US$8.75.
Grab’s foray into Wall Street on Thursday night was greeted with much fanfare, with Nasdaq’s first-ever opening bell ceremony in Southeast Asia.
Co-founders Tan and Tan Hooi Ling were joined onstage by a group of the company’s driver, delivery, and merchant partners at a satellite event in Singapore at about 9.45pm.
This followed its estimated US$40 billion special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger with US-based Altimeter Growth Corp. SPACs are companies with limited or no operating assets.
Earlier reports noted that the Grab listing with Altimeter was looking to raise US$4.5 billion, of which US$750 million would come from Altimeter.
However, the merger was not a smooth one as it was delayed since April due to a financial audit for fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020. Grab was expecting the merger to go through in May.
It was reported that Grab notched a US$988 million loss in the third quarter compared to US$621 million in the same period last year. Revenue dropped nearly 9% to US$157 million.
Grab, which launched in 2012, became the largest ride-hailing firm in Southeast Asia, with operations in eight countries in the region and Japan. – Bernama, December 4, 2021
