Korean retailer Shinsegae invests in Southeast Asia's Grab

Shinsegae didn’t disclose the size of the investment, which came via Signite Partners, a corporate venture capital unit established last year. Grab is currently raising a Series H round that is expected to amount to $6.5 billion, valuing the entire business at $10-14 billion.

Last month, Korea’s Hanwha Asset Management led a $300 million Series A round for Grab’s financial services unit. The most recent equity investment for Grab itself came last August when STIC Investments, a Korea-based private equity firm, committed about $200 million. This was part of the Series H round. Other Korean backers include Hyundai Motor Group, which invested $250 million in 2018 and subsequently launched an electric vehicle ride-hailing service with Grab.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and TIS Intec Group joined the company’s roster of Japanese investors last year after agreeing to contribute $706 million and $150 million, respectively, to the Series H. Carmakers Toyota and Honda are among the other backers, having committed capital and entered into partnerships with Grab to share fleet information and develop financial initiatives for drivers.

Having made its name in ride-hailing, Grab has concentrated on expanding its O2O offering in recent years. Services include food and grocery delivery, last-mile logistics, and electronic payments. It operates more than 500 cities and towns across eight countries, and its app has been downloaded over 214 million times, giving access to some nine million drivers, merchants, and agents.

Recent activity includes the close of a first senior secured term loan facility, structured as a five-year term loan B with a principal amount of $2 billion. It is said to be the largest term loan B facility ever extended to a company in Asia’s technology sector.

Grab’s direct regional competitor, Gojek, is currently seeking to raise $2 billion at a valuation of $9-10 billion. The company also has strong Korean and Japanese backing from the likes of Rakuten, Samsung, and Mitsubishi Corporation.

Shinsegae has interests across distribution, food and beverage, fashion and home furnishings, and construction, but is best known for retail brands such as Shinsegae Department Store, E-mart, and SSG.com, which serves as an integrated e-commerce channel for all subsidiaries. Signite made its first overseas investment last year, backing US-based affordable fashion brand Entireworld.

"We will continue to discover and invest in promising start-ups at home and abroad, as well as identify various opportunities for creating synergies with start-ups,” a Signite official said in a statement.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• North Asia
• Expansion
• Technology
• Singapore
• South Korea
• Growth capital
• Grab