Vietnamese Unicorn VNG to Seek Funds Ahead of U.S. Listing, Sources Say
(Bloomberg) -- VNG Corp., the Vietnamese online gaming firm backed by Singapore wealth fund GIC Pte, is considering raising fresh funds ahead of a potential U.S. listing, according to people familiar with the matter.
The company, whose investors also include Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and Raj Ganguly's B Capital Group, is seeking to raise $200 million to $300 million from both new and existing backers, the people said. The company intends to use the proceeds to bolster its expansion plans, they said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
VNG had been exploring fundraising options including going public in the U.S. through a reverse merger with a blank-check company, Bloomberg News reported in August. A transaction could value VNG at $2 billion to $3 billion, people familiar with the matter said at the time.
While a SPAC listing is still under consideration, the company is now leaning towards an initial public offering in the U.S., an option that it has been exploring since at least 2017, the people said. VNG is restructuring the business to make it easier for a potential U.S. listing, the people said.
Discussions are ongoing and details such as the size of the round could still change, the people said. A representative for VNG said the company actively engages with investors and stakeholders as part of its ordinary course of business, and declined to comment further.
Founded in 2004, VNG offers online games, cloud computing, communication platforms and finance and payments services, according to its website. It has 11 offices in five countries.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
-
AI Bias In Investing Cannot Be Eliminated, But It Can Be Governed
Framing is a particularly important example as identical financial information presented in terms of gains rather than losses can lead an LLM to reach a different assessment.
-
Joining The Dots | Dark Skies, Steady Diya: Why Hope Holds This Diwali
With war, a weak rupee and foreign outflows weighing on sentiment, policymakers at the NDTV World Summit and market veterans at NDTV Profit Ignite: Diwali Edition offered the same advice: stay invested and filter out the noise.
-
The Curious Case of Equitas Small Finance Bank And A CEO Who Quit For Stock
PN Vasudevan believes persistent investor concerns over a perceived conflict of interest had become a governance overhang on Equitas Small Finance Bank's stock, even as the lender improved profitability and asset quality.
