Singapore, Singapore — Singapore-based Grab Holdings said Tuesday it will acquire a controlling stake in digital finance firm Atome Financial for $1.49 billion, seeking to expand access to loans for users across Southeast Asia.
Grab, the region's largest ride-hailing platform, also operates food, grocery and parcel delivery services. Atome Financial is one of Southeast Asia's leading buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) and consumer lending groups.
The proposed deal will give Grab a 60-percent equity interest in Atome Financial.
"If completed, it would combine Atome Financial's business -- spanning BNPL loans, consumer cash loans, BNPL cards and digital lending, with Grab's financial services business," the companies said in a joint statement.
The acquisition would allow both firms to jointly develop products offering everyday financing to more people in the region, extending access to millions without a formal credit history who are excluded from traditional banking, the companies said.
Through Atome, Grab will gain a scaled consumer lending platform, while Atome will tap into Grab's regional ecosystem to open new distribution channels.
"By coming together, we can deliver on our common vision of using technology to responsibly extend financial access to the unbanked and underbanked in the region," said Alex Hungate, Grab's president and chief operating officer.
"With Grab's ecosystem, and our proven AI-powered lending infrastructure, we can extend that to millions more across Southeast Asia who've been left out," added Jefferson Chen, Atome Financial's chief executive officer.
Bank account ownership in recent years has risen sharply in developing economies, according to World Bank figures.
But about 1.3 billion adults globally remained unbanked. Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia, still represent a significant portion of that gap, especially among rural, lower-income and informal workers, according to the World Bank's Global Findex Database.
