CRC invests THB4.5 billion to acquire GrabTaxi stake
Central Retail Corporation (CRC) said on Thursday that its subsidiary, Hillborough Group, has acquired a 67 per cent stake of Porto Worldwide (Porto WW), a company investing in Grab Thailand business.
The share acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
According to CRC's statement to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) signed by CRC Chief Operating Officer Yol Phokasub, it said OAL Holding (OAL) on Wednesday exercised its put option to sell 133,545,740 shares in Porto WW, equivalent to 67.0 per cent, at the price as agreed upon in the Share Purchase Agreement dated December 11, 2019 (SPA), to Hillborough Group.
The statement added that the said acquisition of Porto WW shares by Hillborough Group is in accordance with the obligations stipulated in SPA which was approved by CRC board of directors' meeting on December 10, 2019 and the company's shareholders' meeting on December 19, 2019.
Details of the share acquisition in accordance with the obligations stipulated in SPA are as follow:
Expected closing date: Within December 2021
Registered capital of Porto WW: US$199,322,000
Investment value: Up to THB45 billion (calculated based on terms and conditions under SPA)
Proportion of the investment: 133,545,740 shares, equivalent to 67.0 per cent of total Porto WW shares
Source of funds: CRC's cash flow and bank facilities.
Business type: Investment in 40.0 per cent of GrabTaxi Holdings (Thailand) (GrabTaxi)
The statement said investment in GrabTaxi will be an important part in developing and strengthening CRC's ecosystem and omnichannel platform as Grab is a leading online-to-offline platform service provider with fast growth and expansion of service covering the Southeast Asia region.
"Particularly in Thailand in which Grab has a variety of services from food delivery to transportation, logistics, hotel and accommodation reservation and financial services, which would support and drive CRC to fully become a digital retail organisation and help in furthering the company's business in the future," the statement said.
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