Grab Holdings is in talks to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company that could value the ride-hailing giant at nearly $40 billion. This would make it the largest ever blank-check deal, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, SoftBank-backed Grab was in talks with Altimeter Capital Management LP.
According to the report, Grab expects to raise between $3 billion and $4 billion from private investors. It was first reported in January by Reuters that, Singapore-based Grab was exploring a listing in the United States.
Altimeter, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, has backed two SPACs - Altimeter Growth Corp and Altimeter Growth Corp 2. It is not specified which two SPACs are those. SPACs are shell companies that raise funds through an initial public offering to make a private company, public.
Altimeter did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while Grab could not be reached for comment outside regular business hours.