GoTo Draws $400 Million From Top Abu Dhabi Fund Ahead of IPO

(Bloomberg) -- Abu Dhabi’s biggest sovereign wealth fund has agreed to lead a fundraising at GoTo Group, ahead of a listing that could value Indonesia’s biggest internet firm at as much as $30 billion.

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The $400 million pre-IPO commitment by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will be the first principal investment by its private equity arm into a technology business in Southeast Asia and its largest deal in Indonesia, according to a statement on Wednesday.

GoTo was formed earlier this year by the merger of Indonesia’s two most valuable startups -- ride-hailing giant Gojek and e-commerce firm PT Tokopedia. It has has begun the process of raising $1 billion to $2 billion at a valuation of $25 billion to $30 billion ahead of an initial public offering at home this year and a subsequent U.S. listing, people familiar with the matter said in July.

The firm is set to close the pre-IPO round in stages, with the first tranche likely to wrap up next month, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named.

“Backing of this scale underlines our belief that Indonesia and Southeast Asia are emerging as the next great destinations for tech investment,” GoTo Group Chief Executive Officer Andre Soelistyo said in the statement.

GoTo is a powerhouse in Indonesia, the world’s fourth most-populous nation, encompassing businesses from car-sharing and fintech to online shopping and delivery. It’s backed by shareholders including Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., KKR & Co., SoftBank Group Corp., Temasek Holdings Pte and Tencent Holdings Ltd.

Read more about GoTo’s pre-IPO funding

“This investment in GoTo is aligned with a number of our key investment themes, including the growth of the digital economy in the fast-growing markets of Southeast Asia,” said Hamad Shahwan Al Dhaheri, executive director of private equity at ADIA. “We see strong potential in the region, particularly in Indonesia.”

State-owned ADIA has amassed assets estimated at over $600 billion. It is among investors that could invest in India’s Paytm, Bloomberg reported this month.

(Updates with details on valuation in first paragraph)

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