GoTo is not the only Asian tech company to plummet in valuation after its public launch.
In the most recent waves hitting global tech startups, Indonesia’s GoTo has lost about 70% of its valuation since its IPO in April. The startup company was one of the 11 companies that raised over $500 million from its maiden share sales. At the time, GoTo was Asia’s third-largest IPO startup, after generating approximately $1.1 billion. For about 10 consecutive sessions, the value of GoTo Group shares has been plummeting.
GoTo Group was born from the amalgamation of two top tech companies in Indonesia: Gojek and Tokopedia. Initially, the company had a valuation of $28 billion, of which its shares soared by 13% and gained more momentum. During the inaugural shares sales, popular companies like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and SoftBank Group Corp promised to lock up the purchased shares for 8 months in order to protect the stock value. Unfortunately, the stock price has been depreciating as the unlocking date scheduled for Nov. 30 drew nearer. Many stock investors are skeptical about investing because the larger shareholders could sell stakes at any time. The one-time fifth-largest IPO in the world has lost over $22 billion in market cap.
According to GoTo, the company planned to have a controlled stake sale among early IPO backers to avoid price depreciation. Sadly, the plan did not work out as planned as stakeholders declined the request to sell off at the agreed time.
Promising IPO Startup GoTo Becomes 2022 Largest Loser with 70% Loss
During the first pre-IPO funding round in November 2021, GoTo sealed $1.3 billion from participating investors. The funding round was led by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority via one of its subsidiaries, investing $400 million into GoTo. Top companies like US tech giant Google, Chinese multinational tech company Tencent and Singapore-based holding firm Temasek also participated.
In a report by CoinSpeaker, GoTo has been tagged as the worst tech IPO startup considering its poor performance since its inception. CS recalled a statement by the CEO and co-founder of GoTo, Andre Soelistyo about the tech opportunities in Indonesia and Southeast Asia after the pre-IPO funding round. The former Gojek CEO said: “Indonesia and Southeast Asia are some of the most exciting growth markets in the world, and the backing we’ve secured shows the confidence that investors have in the region’s rapidly expanding digital economy and our market-leading position.” Unfortunately, the CEO’s plight has been shortened due to the lingering tech selloff.
After stakeholders failed to sell off their shares on Wednesday, November 30, 2022, the shares’ price fell by 7% to approximately $0.0091 (141 rupiahs). At the time of writing, the GoTo shares trade at approximately $0.0080 (123 rupiahs).
Interestingly, GoTo is not the only Asian tech company to plummet in valuation after its public launch. Companies like Competitor Grab Holdings Ltd and PT Bukalapak.com have plummeted by approximately 69% and 70% respectively after completing their IPO. The stock price of companies like Zomato Ltd and SenseTime Group has also depreciated in value.
Currently, GoTo Group’s nine-month accumulated loss has increased from 2021’s $750 million (11.58 trillion rupiahs) to $1,3 billion (20.32 trillion rupiahs). Even though, the company’s Q3 2022 loss was reduced due to cost cuts. In November, the biggest IPO underperformer announced the laying off of 12% of GoTo employees.
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