Grab has agreed to acquire a 60% stake in Atome Financial for USD 1.49 billion, with an option to buy the remaining 40% later.
According to Reuters, the deal represents a further expansion of Grab's financial services business, which operates alongside its mobility and delivery operations across Southeast Asia.
Under the agreement, Grab will acquire an initial 60% stake in Atome for USD 1.49 billion. Atome's operations include BNPL loans, consumer cash loans, BNPL cards, and digital lending, which will be combined with Grab's existing financial services business. The companies have reportedly been in talks since the beginning of September, with deliberations being ongoing and no final decision being made at the moment of that announcement.
Grab has also agreed to acquire the remaining 40% stake approximately two years after the transaction closes, under a performance-linked framework tied to Atome's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) and revenue. Under this framework, Atome's total valuation could range between USD 2 billion and USD 4.5 billion. The transaction is expected to close by the third quarter of 2027.
Regional expansion
According to the announcement, the acquisition would allow the company to expand its BNPL services more rapidly across the region. While Grab has already developed BNPL products in Malaysia and Singapore, the Atome acquisition is expected to accelerate its entry into the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand.
Grab launched its own interest-free instalment product for consumer purchases in 2019, through a joint venture with Japanese credit card company Credit Saison. It was also said that acquiring Atome would allow Grab to focus on scaling the business rather than spending years developing credit models, a process that typically involves initial losses while models are refined. Grab added that it could also draw on its three digital banks to lower the cost of funding for Atome's assets.
Grab currently operates in more than 900 cities across Southeast Asia and runs licensed digital lenders in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Updated targets and industry context
Alongside the announcement, Grab raised its 2028 targets, forecasting adjusted EBITDA of USD 1.7 billion and annual revenue growth of more than 30% between 2025 and 2028. Subject to closing timelines, Atome Financial and the rest of Grab's financial services segment are expected to generate adjusted EBITDA of USD 500 million by 2028, with a combined gross loan portfolio exceeding USD 6 billion.
An analyst at a Singapore-based consultancy said the transaction reflects a broader shift in Southeast Asian consumer credit, which is increasingly integrated into large commerce platforms and wallet ecosystems. As underwriting and collections become more standardised across the industry, distribution is becoming a more significant competitive factor, the analyst said.
