GoTo Secures the First Pre-IPO Funding at 18.5 Trillion Rupiah

The GoTo Group announced its first pre-IPO funding of $1.3 billion (over 18.5 trillion Rupiah) from various investors, including the Abu Dhabi Investment  (ADIA) fully-owned subsidiary, Avanda Investment Management, Fidelity International. Participated also in this round, Google, Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), Primavera Capital Group, SeaTown Master Fund, Temasek, Tencent, and Ward Ferry.

Other investors are expected to further join the pre-IPO fundraising round towards the final close in the coming weeks, aka towards the end of this year.

In an official statement, the funds will be used to invest deeper in developing its ecosystem, strengthening its position as a market leader in the region, and better serving the customers.

Further translated, GoTo to continuously focus on growing the customer base, expanding payment services and financial services, as well as encouraging the use of integrated transportation fleets and logistics networks to further enhance the hyperlocal experience, in order to better serve the customers.

“Indonesia and Southeast Asia are the two most promising markets in terms of growth prospects worldwide. The support we have received demonstrates the confidence that investors have in the rapidly growing digital economy in this region, as well as our position as a market leader," GoTo Group's CEO, Andre Soelistyo said, Thursday (11/11).

Andre also mentioned, the increasing digital adoption has driven consumer's demand and brought many users online. As a result, GoTo's services demand continues to increase, based on the company's commitment to continue providing more options, value, and convenience to all customers in the GoTo ecosystem.

Primavera Capital Group's Managing Director, Michael Woo said, “We discover growth opportunities in Indonesia and GoTo towards e-commerce, on-demand mobility and fintech  in all segments where Primavera has extensive investment experience. We are excited to partner and grow with GoTo and contribute our expertise and resources to the company.”

Indonesia has a GDP of over $1 trillion and is the fourth most populous country in the world. The GoTo ecosystem is said to account for nearly two-thirds of Indonesia's consumer spending, and the total target market value will grow to over $600 billion by 2025. The country has nearly 140 million people with little or no access to the formal financial system, therefore, significant growth opportunities lies on the payment and financial service companies.

Through the Gojek and Tokopedia merger, GoTo's services now include on-demand transportation, e-commerce, food and grocery delivery, logistics and fulfillment, as well as financial and payment services. The GoTo Group reached over 1.8 billion transactions in 2020, with over US$22 billion Group Gross Transaction Value “GTV” in total, and contributed to the economy equal to over 2% of Indonesia's GDP.

The pre-IPO

The GoTo Group has not officially announced the date for the stock exchange. Rumor has it, the plan is to be executed in early 2022 with the go public process starting on the local exchange, then the New York exchange.

The success of Bukalapak's IPO on the IDX has become a benchmark for many local technology companies to follow. By announcing the price at IDR 850 per share, Bukalapak was able to reap IDR 21.9 trillion. This is the largest number in the history of the Indonesian capital market, as well as the first listing of Southeast Asia's tech unicorn on the stock exchange. When GoTo managed to go public on the IDX, it will be very likely to score a new record.

Gojek's closest competitor, Grab, has decided to go public through the SPAC scheme at the end of this year. This plan was delayed from its initial target in the middle of this year, due to financial audit request from the local stock exchange authority. Grab is targeting a nearly $40 million valuation before going IPO.

–Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian