Grab to acquire premium grocery chain Jaya Grocer shortly after Nasdaq-listing

Grab is acquiring premium supermarket chain Jaya Grocer. According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Grab said it will acquire all of the ordinary shares of Jaya Grocer and 75% of the preference shares of Jaya Grocer. This comes less than two weeks after the company's Nasdaq listing and according to The Edge Markets, the deal is valued to be up to RM1.8 billion. 

Jaya Grocer operates 40 stores across Peninsular Malaysia, with the majority being located in the Klang Valley near Kuala Lumpur. Subject to certain terms, Grab will have the option to buy, and the current shareholders will have the option to sell to Grab, the remaining 25% of the preference shares of Jaya Grocer after the closing of the transaction, the SEC filing said.

For local regulatory purposes, Grab intends to partner with a local investor which will own 50% of the voting shares in Jaya Grocer. Following closing, Jaya Grocer is expected to become a subsidiary of Grab and its financial results will be consolidated by Grab.

According to The Edge, Jaya Grocer has been made available for sale for more than a year. In May this year, the premium grocery chain had offers from US-based Carlyle Group and Luxembourg-based CVC Capital Partners but both did not go through, The Edge said. At that point in time, Jaya Grocer's owners were planning to sell the business for at least RM1.1 billion, for the business that amassed RM1.34 billion in sales during the financial year ended June 2020, The Edge added. Jaya Grocer was founded in 2007.

Separately, Grab's co-founder Anthony Tan was a billionaire for a few hours after its listing on Nasdaq earlier this month before the stock slipped. Grab first announced its merger with special purpose acquisition company Altimeter Growth Corp in April, raising about US$4.5 billion in cash and valuing Grab’s shares at US$39.6 billion.

Photo courtesy: 123RF

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