Vietnam-based online gaming unicorn VNG Corp, whose investors include a unit of Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte, is said to be considering going public in the US through a reverse merger with a blank-check company, Bloomberg reported.
Quoting people familiar with the matter, the newswire said VNG is working with financial advisers to hold discussions with special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) for a potential transaction.
A deal could value VNG at $2 billion to $3 billion, the people said. Discussions are ongoing and the company could decide to pursue other funding options, they were quoted as saying.
A representative for VNG told Bloomberg no decision on an IPO or SPAC has been made or approved and otherwise declined to comment.
According to Bloomberg News, VNG has been considering a potential NASDAQ listing since at least 2017.
VNG’s potential listing plan also came as more Southeast Asian tech firms were planning US listings through mergers with blank-check companies.
Last month, Singapore-based online real estate platform PropertyGuru has agreed to a $1.78 billion SPAC deal, while Indonesia’s travel unicorn Traveloka is said to be in talks to raise funds for a listing via SPAC, Bloomberg reported.
Singapore-headquartered ride-hailing unicorn Grab said it expects to complete the merger with Altimeter Growth Corp SPAC by the fourth quarter of this year.
Founded in 2004, VNG has seen 14 years of continuous development and expansion to become an Internet & Technology company with over 3200 associates. Besides gaming businesses, the Vietnam’s first unicorn also operates communication and entertainment platforms, provides finance and payment as well as cloud services, according to its website.