S’pore telco Circles.Life reportedly in early talks to merge with SPAC Bridgetown in a US$2.5B deal

US-listed Bridgetown Holdings, backed by billionaires Peter Thiel and Richard Li, is reportedly considering a potential merger with Singapore’s virtual telco Circles.Life, according to people familiar with the matter.

They said that the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is holding early talks with Circles.Life to explore a transaction. Bridgetown could seek a valuation for the combined entity of about US$1.5 billion to US$2.5 billion (S$2.1 billion to S$3.5 billion), they added.

The sources asserted that the considerations are in preliminary stages, and there is no guarantee that a deal will be finalised.

Other Singapore companies are also exploring SPAC deals

Founded in 2016, Circles.Life offers digital mobile services including voice, data, roaming and international calls. The company reached five per cent market share in Singapore in 2019, and also has operations in Taiwan, Australia, Indonesia and Japan.

In 2020, private equity firm Warburg Pincus made a “substantial investment” in Circles.Life, but no figures were disclosed.

Meanwhile, Bridgetown raised US$595 million in a US initial public offering in 2020 with the goal of finding a target in the technology, financial services or media sectors in Southeast Asia.

The SPAC had previously held talks with other targets including Indonesia’s Traveloka as well as e-commerce giant Tokopedia, before it merged with ride-hailing firm Gojek.

Bridgetown 2 Holdings, another SPAC backed by Li and Thiel, merged with real estate marketplace PropertyGuru earlier this year.

Besides Circles.Life, several other local companies are also exploring SPAC deals.

Online classifieds marketplace company Carousell, for one, has been considering a US listing as early as June 2021. In January 2022, the company is reportedly in “exclusive talks” to go public through a SPAC merger with L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corp.

Additionally, homegrown logistics startup Ninja Van has also expressed plans to go public in the United States this year. Singaporean sports media company One Championship is also mulling a US SPAC deal.

Featured Image Credit: Circles.Life via Facebook