Grab prices and increases convertible notes offering to US$1.5 billion
[SINGAPORE] Grab announced on Wednesday (Jun 11) that its five-year convertible note offering has been upsized to US$1.5 billion from US$1.25 billion.
The initial conversion rate of the notes will be 152.6 Class A ordinary shares for every US$1,000 principal amount equivalent to an initial conversion price of around US$6.55 per Class A ordinary share. This is a premium of about 40 per cent above the closing price of US$4.68 on Tuesday.
The proceeds will be used for general corporate purchases, a concurrent repurchase of shares and possible acquisitions. Grab and GoTo were recently rumoured to be in talks to merge before both issued disclosures saying otherwise on Tuesday.
Grab plans to repurchase Class A ordinary shares worth about US$273.5 million from certain purchasers of the notes in an off-market transaction for a price of US$4.68 per share – the closing price on Tuesday. This purchase will be made under Grab's US$500 million share buyback programme.
The bond will be listed on the Singapore Exchange and will be the largest equity-linked offering.
The conversion rate is subject to adjustment. On or after Jun 21, 2028, Grab may redeem all or part of the notes for cash if the last reported Class A ordinary share price has been at least 130 per cent of the conversion price for at least 20 trading days during a 30 consecutive trading-day period. The notes may also be redeemed if less than 10 per cent of the aggregate principal amount of notes originally issued remains outstanding.
Noteholders will have the option to require the company to repurchase for cash all or part of their notes at a price equal to the principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
40 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Meta makes major investment in Scale AI, takes in CEO
Mr Alexandr Wang, who co-founded Scale AI in 2016, will join Meta to help with the tech giant's own artificial intelligence efforts. PHOTO: SHURAN HUANG/NYTIMES SAN FRANCISCO - Scale AI announced a major new investment by Meta late on June 12 that values the startup at more than US$29 billion (S$37.2 billion) and puts its founder to work for the tech titan. Company founder and chief executive Alexandr Wang will join Meta to help with the tech giant's own artificial intelligence efforts as part of the deal, according to the startup. Meta was reportedly pouring more than US$10 billion into San Francisco-based Scale AI, and acquires its 28-year-old CEO amid fierce competition in the AI race with rivals such as OpenAI, Google and Microsoft. 'Meta has finalised our strategic partnership and investment in Scale AI,' a Meta spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry. 'As part of this, we will deepen the work we do together producing data for AI models and Alexandr Wang will join Meta to work on our superintelligence efforts.' Meta promised more details about the move in coming weeks. Scale AI works with business, governments and labs to exploit the benefits of artificial intelligence, according to the startup. 'Meta's investment recognises Scale's accomplishments to date and reaffirms that our path forward – like that of AI – is limitless,' Mr Wang said in a release. 'Scale bridges the gap between human values and technology to help our customers realise AI's full potential.' Since Mr Wang founded Scale AI in 2016, it has grown to more than 1,500 people, he wrote in a post on X. He said a few other employees, whom he referred to as 'Scaliens', will go with him to work on Meta's AI initiative. Mr Wang described his departure as 'bittersweet', adding he will remain a member of the Scale AI board of directors. Military AI Along with work that includes AI data, agents, and optimising systems, Scale AI announced in 2024 that an artificial intelligence model built on Meta's Llama 3 model was customised for US national security missions, which include planning military or intelligence operations and understanding adversary vulnerabilities. Listed capabilities of 'Defence Llama' include assessing scenarios and answering tactical questions such as how enemies might attack and how to effectively counter, according to Scale AI. 'Scale AI is committed to ongoing collaboration with the defence community to ensure Defence Llama remains a trusted and effective asset for US military and intelligence operations,' Mr Wang said at the time. Scale AI will use the infusion of capital to accelerate innovation and strengthen partnerships, along with distributing proceeds to equity holders, according to the startup. Meta will hold a minority stake in Scale AI after the investment deal closes, but an exact figure was not revealed. Tech industry veteran and investor Jason Droege, a co-founder of Uber Eats food delivery platform, will take over as chief of Scale AI, according to the company. 'Scale has led the charge in accelerating AI development,' Mr Droege said in a release. 'We have built the strongest foundation to tackle AI's data challenges and push the boundaries of what's possible.' Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg recently touted his tech firm's generative artificial intelligence assistant, telling shareholders it is used by a billion people each month across its platforms. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Gold tops one-month high as Middle East tensions spur safe-haven demand
GOLD prices climbed on Friday to their highest point in more than a month, on track for a weekly gain, as investors sought safe-haven assets after Israel's strike on Iran heightened Middle East tensions. Spot gold was up 1.3 per cent at US$3,428.28 an ounce, as of 0134 GMT, after hitting its highest level since May 7 earlier in the session. Bullion has gained more than 3.5 per cent so far this week. US gold futures gained 1.4 per cent to US$3,449.60. Geopolitical tensions escalated after Israel struck Iran as tensions mounted over U.S. efforts to halt Iran's production of atomic bomb materials. 'This latest spike in hostilities in the Middle East has taken the focus off trade negotiations for now, with investors making a play towards safe-haven assets in response,' said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade. Israel declared a state of emergency, citing expected missile and drone attacks from Tehran, and the US military is preparing for various contingencies in the Middle East, including potential assistance with evacuating American civilians, a US official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up 'Gold surged past resistance around the US$3,400 on news of the airstrikes, and further upside could be in-store should the escalation continue,' Waterer said. Signalling a cooling US labour market and subdued inflation pressures, the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits held at an eight-month high last week, while slowing domestic demand helped to restrain producer prices in May. The data released a day after the Labor Department reported a moderate rise in consumer prices in May, bolstered expectations of an earlier rate cut. Traders are now expecting a 55-basis-point rate cut by the year-end, starting in September rather than October as previously anticipated. Elsewhere, spot silver edged down 0.1 per cent at US$36.33 per ounce, platinum fell 0.8 per cent to US$1,285.21, while palladium was steady at US$1,055.21. All three metals were headed for weekly gain. REUTERS
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Man Man's Singapore operator sinks into red less than a year after listing
[SINGAPORE] Japanese food and beverage (F&B) operator Food Innovators Holdings (FIH) posted a net loss of S$4.1 million for FY2025 ended Feb 28, in a company report on Thursday (Jun 12) with its audited financial statement for the period. The loss was attributed to the underprovision of certain expenses, such as unrealised foreign exchange losses, depreciation, share options expenses and other administrative expenses of the company. This is a turn from the S$1.4 million net profit the group recorded in FY2024, and S$43.8 million in revenue for FY2024. The group's audited statement for FY2025 noted that net cash generated from operating activities stood at S$17.9 million, while a net loss of nearly S$15 million was recorded from financing activities, as compared to the S$11.5 million recorded in its unaudited statement. 'The reason for the change is mainly due to the reclassification of the S$2.9 million of initial public offering (IPO) listing expenses disbursement from operating cash flow to financing cash flow,' said Kubota Yasuaki, chief executive and executive director of FIH. The company made a lacklustre debut on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange on Oct 16 last year, opening at S$0.20 – 9 per cent below its IPO price of S$0.22. It ended the day at S$0.21. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up It announced that its IPO closed with 14 million of its new shares fully subscribed at S$0.22 apiece the day before. FIH was incorporated in 2019, and has two main business pillars – food retail in Japan, Singapore and Malaysia; and restaurant leasing and subleasing in Japan. The group owns and operates various restaurant concepts in Singapore such as unagi restaurant Man Man, tempura rice bowl eatery Tendon Kohaku and lamb barbeque restaurant The Hitsuji Club. Of late, several other F&B players in Singapore have also faced difficulties keeping up with high rental rates and operating costs amid low demand for restaurant meals. Restaurant operators Tung Lok Restaurants and Japan Food Holdings sunk into the red for FY2025 as well, with the former's net loss for the full year at S$1.8 million, compared to its S$2 million net profit the year before. This comes as various mid-market operators face challenges in finding their niche, while facing a subdued economic outlook at present and observed cuts on discretionary spending. As at 11.26 am, shares of FIH were trading flat at S$0.16.
