Tokopedia picks Morgan Stanley, Citi to manage debut listing

[JAKARTA] Indonesia's e-commerce giant PT Tokopedia said it has hired Morgan Stanley and Citigroup as advisers to help accelerate its plan to go public.

"We have not decided yet which market and method, and are still considering options," the Jakarta-based company said in a statement on Wednesday. "SPAC is a potential option that we could consider but we have not committed to anything at the moment."

The comments come after Bloomberg News reported Bridgetown Holdings, the blank-check company backed by billionaires Richard Li and Peter Thiel, is considering a potential merger with Tokopedia.

The special purpose acquisition company is exploring the structure and feasibility of a deal with Tokopedia. The SoftBank Group-backed firm could be valued at US$8 billion to US$10 billion in a transaction.

For Tokopedia, a sale to a SPAC would be a speedier way to list in the US Still, William Tanuwijaya, co-founder and chief executive officer of Tokopedia, has in the past said he would seek a dual listing so employees and consumers in Indonesia can own shares of the company.

Tokopedia is Indonesia's second most valuable startup after ride-hailing and delivery giant Gojek. Its early backers include SoftBank Vision Fund, Alibaba Group Holding and Sequoia India. Alphabet's Google and Temasek Holdings have also invested about US$350 million in Tokopedia, people familiar with the matter have said.

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"An IPO of Tokopedia would give investors a way to invest directly in an Indonesian e-commerce rival," of Sea, the only major Southeast Asian internet company listed in the US Bloomberg Intelligence Matthew Kanterman wrote in a note.

Bridgetown raised US$550 million in a US initial public offering in October, following other so-called blank-check companies such as those associated with billionaire investor Bill Ackman and former US House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Merging with a SPAC has become an increasingly popular method for closely held businesses to raise capital for growth.

A potential merger with Tokopedia would also be in-line with the strategy that Bridgetown set out in its prospectus: to focus on a target in the technology, financial services or media sectors in South-east Asia.

BLOOMBERG