Diversified leasing and financing provider Tokyo Century increased its commitment to Singapore-based ride hailing service Grab to $175m today, pushing its series H round to more than $3bn in size.
The deal involved equity funding as well as capital for Grab’s car rental services subsidiary, Grab Rentals. Tokyo Century first invested through a strategic partnership formed in 2016, adding a similarly undisclosed amount in January 2018.
Founded in 2012 as GrabTaxi, Grab operates a ride hailing app that is present in eight countries across Southeast Asia. The company has also developed a range of related offerings, including mobile payment, food delivery and online shopping platforms.
Grab Rentals will use the financing to expand its product offering to cover flexible-term rentals and to build up an electric vehicle fleet. It will also further develop its data and fleet management technology.
Tokyo Century has also committed to extend its existing partnership with Grab, particularly with regards to the latter’s overseas business and the development of additional verticals.
Grab has raised more than $6.7bn to date, including the $3bn in a series H round that is now expected to reach $5bn, and which already includes commitments from automotive manufacturers Toyota, Hyundai and Kia Motors.
Ping An Capital and Citi Ventures, corporate venturing arms for insurer Ping An and financial services firm Citi, have backed the round, as have travel agency Booking Holdings, software producer Microsoft and financial services provider Kasikornbank.
Small-vehicle maker Yamaha Motor is also a series H investor, as is investment bank Goldman Sachs’ Investment Partners division and the Mirae Asset – Naver Asia Growth Fund formed by internet company Naver and Mirae Asset Daewoo.
Other series H participants include All-Stars Investment, Vulcan Capital, OppenheimerFunds, Cinda Sino-Rock Investment Management, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Macquarie Capital.
Grab closed a $2.5bn series G round in January 2018 co-led by telecommunications conglomerate SoftBank and ride hailing service Didi Chuxing, with participation from Toyota’s Next Technology Fund and Hyundai.
SoftBank already led the company’s $750m series F round in 2016, after Grab had secured $350m in series E capital from SoftBank, Didi Chuxing, China Investment Corporation, Tiger Global Management and Coatue Management in 2015.
In 2014, SoftBank supplied $250m in series D funding, following a $15m series B round backed by travel agency Qunar, GGV Capital and Vertex Ventures earlier that same year. The series B investors then joined Tiger Global and Hillhouse Capital Management for a $65m series C.
