Stock Market Today, Sept. 16: Grab Acquires 60% Stake in Atome Financial for $1.49 Billion
Grab Holdings (NASDAQ:GRAB), a super-app for ride-hailing, deliveries, and digital financial services, closed at $2.87, down 1.37%. The stock moved after Grab announced a $1.49 billion cash deal for a 60% stake in Atome Financial. Investors are watching the financial services expansion and consumer lending reach looking ahead. Trading volume reached 82.1M shares, coming in about 72% above its three-month average of 47.6M shares. Grab Holdings IPO'd in 2020 and has fallen 76% since going public.
How the markets moved today
The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) fell 0.43% to 7,553, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) slipped 0.01% to 25,978. Among ride-hailing, delivery, and consumer fintech platforms, Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) closed at $71.01, down 0.59%, while Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) finished at $15.69, unchanged, as mobility peers remained in focus.
What this means for investors
Grab, the Southeast Asian delivery, mobility, and financial services upstart, continues to show it intends to become the leading "superapp" in its niche after acquiring 60% of Atome Financial for $1.49 billion today. Prior to the deal, Grab held over $6 billion in cash versus minimal debt, so the deal shouldn't be a funding problem by any means.
Atome Financial operates in five of Grab's six markets and brings over 25 million unique transacting users, helping to beef up the latter's fintech offerings. Atome has seen its gross merchandise volume grow ninefold over the last six years and is profitable on an adjusted EBITDA basis.
As of 2024, merely 5% of Southeast Asian adults owned a credit card and only 14% had borrowed from a financial institution, so the potential here for Grab could be massive if they execute successfully upon this opportunity.
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Josh Kohn-Lindquist has positions in Lyft and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Lyft. The Motley Fool recommends Grab and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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