Indonesian ticketing startup Tiket gears up for public issue  

Tiket.com, an Indonesian travel company, is looking to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company as it seeks to expand its business, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

With domestic users making up 90 percent of Tiket.com customers and millennials comprising 60 percent of them, Tiket.com allows travelers to search for nearby hotels and quickly obtain information about attractions and destinations, including lesser-known Instagrammable spots usually sought after by millennials.

Talks on with COVA Acquisition Corp.

According to sources, the Indonesian startup is in talks with COVA Acquisition Corp for a deal that could value the combined entity at about $ 2 billion. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is advising Jakarta-based Tiket, valued at more than $ 1 billion and owned by diversified Indonesian conglomerate Djarum Group.

The startup may also pursue a Initial Public Offering (IPO), a merger, or acquisition to expand, sources said. Negotiations between the two companies aren’t finalized, and their possible discussions may not result in a deal. Tiket joins a number of Southeast Asian internet companies considering SPAC listings or IPOs to propel growth as e-commerce gains popularity in the region.

As per sources, Tiket could raise about $200 million as part of the deal in a so-called private investment in public equity, or PIPE, that often accompanies a SPAC merger, the reports said. Representatives of Tiket, Goldman, and COVA Acquisition declined to comment.

Tiket.com was founded in 2011, and later in 2017, Djarum acquired to put it under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer George Hendrata, previously Djarum’s director of business development and diversification. Tiket’s sales of plane tickets and hotel bookings surged more than 300% in the first three months of 2021 compared with the second quarter of 2020, when business was hurt by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the company’s press release in April.

Tiket’s platform lets consumers buy tickets for flights, trains, concerts, and other events. Users can also book hotel and rental cars in Indonesia. It has a network of more than 90 airlines, 2.8 million hotels and other lodgings, and more than 400 corporate partners.

COVA Acquisition is led by Jun Hong Heng, the founder of San Francisco-based Crescent Cove Advisors LP, which backs high-growth technology, media, and telecommunications ventures in the U.S. and Southeast Asia.