Sea Ltd has been named Singapore’s most valuable homegrown public company after its market valuation surged to US$100 billion with its shares rising more than 400 per cent this year alone.
The parent company of Shopee was previously known to be the most valuable tech company in Southeast Asia following its 2017 initial public offering (IPO), which valued the company at US$4.58 billion.
New York-listed Sea announced yesterday (Dec 10) that it plans to raise about US$2 billion (S$2.67 billion) by issuing new securities in the United States.
It plans to offer 11 million American Depositary Shares and offer underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1.65 million shares.
With the offering, the company would raise US$2.2 billion at Wednesday’s closing price, or US$2.6 billion with the additional shares.
Bloomberg intelligence analysts said that Sea could use the new capital for its digital bank venture, or use it to bolster investment in its e-commerce and gaming sectors.
According to Sea, it intends to spend the proceeds from the new offering on business expansion, “including potential strategic investments and acquisitions.”
Sea Fuelling Growth In Financial Services
Last week, Sea is one of two that has been awarded a digital full banking license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
With the new digital banking license, Sea will now be able to provide retail and corporate customers with services such as account openings, deposits, as well as debit and credit cards.
It can also accelerate its growth with SeaMoney and build more revenue streams in its digital financial services.
Following the license win, Sea’s shares surged to an all-time high since its IPO.
Despite COVID-19, Sea has been rapidly growing as the pandemic acted as a tailwind for all three of its business segments (gaming, e-commerce and financial services).
In the third quarter of 2020, Sea reported that its total revenue jumped 98 per cent to S$1.2 billion.
Featured Image Credit: Sea
