Grab Plunges 21% After Altimeter Deal Caps Biggest SPAC Merger

(Bloomberg) — Grab Holdings Ltd., Southeast Asia’s biggest ride-hailing and delivery company, fell sharply in its first day of trading after completing its merger with Altimeter Growth Corp., the largest deal yet for a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

The shares slid 21% to $8.67 at 1:30 p.m. in New York. The stock finished the day at $8.75.

The Covid-19 pandemic has severely hampered ride-hailing businesses, and the omicron variant is causing new limits on travel. Uber Technologies Inc.’s stock has declined more than 10% since South Africa announced the identification of a new variant. Grab’s home country of Singapore banned entry from seven African countries last week, and the government said Thursday it detected two imported cases of omicron.