Singapore-based Grab, whose app is ubiquitous in Southeast Asia for ride hailing and food delivery, will issue convertible bonds that mature on June 15, 2030, it said
Grab Holdings is planning a US$1.25 billion sale of bonds convertible into stock, partly to bulk up its war chest for acquisitions amid signs that talks to take over rival delivery-and-transport provider GoTo Group have stalled.
Grab joins the flurry of sales of bonds that can be swapped into stock by Asian companies this year. That is particularly been the case with Chinese firms as issuers from Baidu to Ping An Insurance Group of China announced sizeable deals in recent months.
Aside from possible acquisitions, Grab said it plans some share buy-backs – the company has US$274 million remaining under its share-repurchase programme as of the end of March. The bonds will be redeemable, under certain conditions, from mid-2028.
As for the GoTo acquisition, Grab on Monday signalled that it was halting or at least pausing a planned US$7 billion acquisition. The pair of ride-hailing and food-delivery companies have held on-and-off talks for years, but a combination never materialised, partly because of antitrust concerns likely to arise from combining the two dominant players in Southeast Asia.
