Grab Holdings, the ride-hailing app with a significant footprint in south-east Asia, is to go public with an estimated value of $39.6 billion.
It has joined with investment firm Altimeter Growth Corporation and intends to list on the US Nasdaq exchange, following the publicly-traded route set by ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft.
Grab had revenues of $12.5 billion in 2020 - more than double 2018's figures - and believes it accounts for approximately 72% of total regional ride-hailing revenue.
Grab is also involved with food delivery and digital wallet payments, and its listing is expected to be the largest US equity offering by a south-east Asian company.
The Singapore-based company says it has "made significant strides towards profitability" and thinks its "total addressable market" will grow from approximately $52 billion in 2020 to more than $180 billion by 2025.
Anthony Tan, group CEO and co-founder, said: “This is a milestone in our journey to open up access for everyone to benefit from the digital economy. This is even more critical as our region recovers from Covid-19. It was very challenging for us too, but it taught us immensely about the resiliency of our business."
Tan added that the app allowed drivers to "pivot to deliveries" when the pandemic hit travel.
