Grab Reportedly Purchased 4% Shares of Emtek, OVO and DANA

Decacorn Singapore, Grab reportedly bought around 4% stake in the Indonesian media conglomerate Elang Mahkota Teknologi (Emtek). This step is considered to increase the opportunities for OVO and DANA to merge.

The value of shares purchased by Grab is said to be more than IDR 4 trillion. “This is in the issuance of new shares through a private placement scheme recently,” said a Straits Times source, Thursday (15/4).

Emtek announced that it has issued 4.76 billion new shares in additional capital without pre-emptive rights (PMTHMETD) or private placement.

The company also pocketed fresh funds of IDR 9.3 trillion. The proceeds from the private placement will be used to develop Emtek’s business, as well as fund day-to-day operations.

South Korean search platform Naver Corp and investment firm H Holdings Inc are buyers of shares, representing about 8.4% of capital.

“Grab buys through H Holdings,” said the source, who did not want to be named. The entry of new investors has an impact on the ownership of previous shareholders, which has decreased, aka diluted.

This includes Indofood boss Anthony Salim’s shareholding which fell from 9.08% to 8.38%. Then the ownership of Emtek boss Eddy K Sariaatmadja also fell from 24.9% to 22.96%.

Meanwhile, Adikarsa Sarana’s shares have been diluted from 11.53% to 10.03%. Then, Susanto Suwarto’s possession fell from 12.61% to 11.63%. Meanwhile, Piet Yaury’s shares decreased from 8.84% to 8.15%.

Likewise, the ownership of The Northern Trust Company S / A Archipelago fell from 8.06% to 7.43%. Then, the ownership of PT Prima Visualindo decreased from 8.14% to 6.9%.

Potential OVO and DANA Merger

In a disclosure of information related to last year’s fourth-quarter financial report, Emtek’s subsidiary, Kreatif Media Karya (KMK), sold 6% shares of Elang Andalan Nusantara (EAN) for IDR 76 billion on December 30, 2020.

That way, information related to EAN, including DANA and Doku, will no longer be included in Emtek’s financial statements. EAN is a joint venture between Emtek and Alibaba.

Alibaba previously owned 45% of EAN. Meanwhile, KMK has 55%. Now, KMK’s ownership in EAN has dropped to 49%.

Meanwhile, Grab, which reportedly bought 4% stake in Emtek, supports OVO. The entry of the Singapore decacorn to Emtek is considered to open the opportunity for OVO and DANA to merge.

The news that OVO and DANA are about to merge has actually been blowing since 2019. Founder and owner of Lippo Group, Mochtar Riady, said that his company sold two-thirds of OVO’s shares. At the end of 2019, Grab was reportedly in talks to buy DANA from Emtek.

OVO and DANA Merger Opportunities are Stronger Thanks to Alibaba

Moreover, Gojek is reportedly getting closer to merging with Tokopedia. DealStreetAsia reported that Tokopedia and its affiliates have 41% shares in OVO. The details are that Tokopedia has 36.1% shares in OVO’s parent company, Bumi Cakrawala Perkasa.

Then, the co-founders of Tokopedia Leontinus Alpha Edison and William Tanuwijaya own 5% through PT Wahana Innovasi Lestari which was acquired from Grab in February 2020. Grab Inc controls 39.2% shares in parent OVO.

Meanwhile, Gojek has GoPay. An executive who was involved in the merger discussion said that Tokopedia would sell its shares in OVO if it joined Gojek.

In addition to the news that Grab bought Emtek’s shares, and Gojek will merge with Tokopedia, the opportunity for OVO and DANA to merge is getting stronger because of the Alibaba factor.

The Chinese technology giant is said to be planning to inject capital into Grab at the end of last year. Alibaba has a stake in DANA through Ant Financial.

“More talks like that (the OVO and DANA merger) may follow (amidst the Alibaba and Grab discussions),” said CEO of Singapore-based venture builder, Momentum Works Li Jianggan quoted from ChannelNewsAsia, late last year (23/9 / 2020).