Singapore’s Garena Picks Goldman for $1 Billion IPO

Garena, Southeast Asia’s most valuable startup, picked Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to lead a planned initial public offering that could fetch about $1 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The Singapore-based online gaming portal and e-commerce provider plans to select additional banks as soon as this month, the people said. Garena is considering listing in the U.S., the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
If completed, the deal would be a boon for backers such as Tencent Holdings Ltd. and mark the largest technology IPO out of Southeast Asia. It may open the door for offerings from other local startups, including ride-hailing leader Grab and e-commerce operator Tokopedia.

“This is an extremely significant deal,” said Vishal Harnal, a partner at 500 Startups in Singapore. “Once you have a success story coming out of the region, it becomes easier for others to emulate. An IPO of this magnitude will galvanize and serve as a beacon to all the startups in Southeast Asia.”

Link: Singapore’s Garena Picks Goldman for $1 Billion IPO