Grab bets $1.5B on lending with Atome majority buy
What's the deal? Grab Holdings agreed to buy 60% of Singapore-based buy-now-pay-later platform Atome Financial for $1.49 billion. The deal, announced Tuesday, is with Atome's parent Advance Intelligence GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and other parties.
What's the endgame? The ride-hailing and delivery firm is building financial services into a new pillar of growth. Buying Atome gives it a stronger foothold in consumer lending across Southeast Asia.
Why now? Grab wants to expand beyond its app ecosystem to add customers and spur growth. Owning a majority of Atome lets it push deeper into lending, a business it has flagged as central to its next phase.
The signal: The acquisition marks one of Grab's biggest bets on financial services, signalling that Southeast Asia's superapps increasingly see credit — not just rides and deliveries — as their path to growth.
Read more: news.bloomberglaw.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
