Grab (GRAB.US) acquires a 60% stake in buy now, pay later platform Atome for $1.49 billion, betting on the "next frontier" of consumer credit.

Zhito Finance APP has learned that Grab (GRAB.US) is acquiring Singapore-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform Atome Financial to expand its consumer credit business. The company announced that it will acquire a 60% controlling stake in Atome for $1.49 billion in cash, and plans to acquire the remaining 40% about two years after the completion of the first transaction. Grab Chief Financial Officer Peter Oey said on Wednesday that this two-stage structure is partly intended to "de-risk" the deal from a capital allocation perspective.