Grab acquires 60% of Atome Financial for $1.49B to expand lending across Southeast Asia

Grab Holdings is paying $1.49 billion for a 60% stake in Atome Financial, the Singapore-based buy-now-pay-later platform owned by Advance Intelligence Group. The deal represents the Southeast Asian super-app’s largest financial services acquisition to date and a clear signal that Grab is doubling down on lending even as its own stock takes a beating.

The acquisition values Atome Financial at north of $2 billion, a price tag that looks a lot more reasonable when you consider Atome pulled in $470 million in revenue during 2025. That figure represented an 80% year-over-year jump, and the company has now posted pre-tax profitability for two consecutive years.

Why Grab wants a lending empire

The Atome deal slots neatly into a buying spree that’s been accelerating throughout 2026. Grab previously picked up an initial 50.1% stake in Stash Financial for $425 million and acquired Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for $600 million. Add the Atome price tag, and Grab has committed over $2.5 billion in acquisitions in a relatively compressed window.

Grab’s gross loan portfolio reached $1.44 billion as of Q1 2026. Atome’s existing merchant network and credit assessment capabilities could help Grab scale that portfolio considerably faster than organic growth alone would allow.

The balance sheet tension

Grab’s financial services segment posted an adjusted EBITDA loss of $17 million in Q1 2026. Spending $1.49 billion on a lending acquisition while your lending division is still losing money requires a certain confidence in the trajectory.

Grab’s stock has not been kind to shareholders this year. Shares were trading around $3.02 at the time the deal surfaced, putting the company’s market capitalization near $12.4 billion after a punishing 39% decline in 2026. For context, Grab went public via SPAC in late 2021 at a valuation north of $40 billion.

Southeast Asia’s BNPL moment

Atome Financial has built a presence across multiple Southeast Asian markets, offering point-of-sale installment plans and small-ticket consumer loans. Its merchant partnerships span fashion, electronics, travel, and lifestyle categories. The 80% revenue growth it posted in 2025 suggests strong product-market fit, and two years of pre-tax profitability indicates the unit economics are working.

The competitive landscape adds urgency. GoTo, Grab’s primary rival in Indonesia, has been building its own financial services capabilities through GoPay and Bank Jago. Sea Limited, which operates Shopee and SeaMoney, has been aggressively expanding digital banking and lending products across the region.

If the acquisition closes as reported, Grab will control 60% of Atome Financial while Advance Intelligence Group retains a minority position. Grab’s consolidated financials will absorb 60% of Atome’s results, including that $470 million revenue line, which would meaningfully change the composition of Grab’s top-line reporting.

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