Singapore's Swat Mobility considers IPO in Japan

Swat Mobility Pte, an on-demand bus service provider, is considering an initial public offering in Japan to bankroll its expansion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The Singapore-based startup recently appointed an international auditing firm as it contemplates listing on the Tokyo stock exchange, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the matter is private.

Swat Mobility uses high-precision route-optimizing technology to pool multiple passengers. It sees Japan as a promising market for on-demand bus services in the wake of fatal accidents involving elderly drivers, the person said.

A representative of Swat Mobility declined to comment.

The startup counts Toyota Motor Corp. among its partners and customers include Mitsui Fudosan Co. and Jupiter Telecommunications Co., the Japanese cable-TV company known as J:COM. This year, Swat secured investments from backers led by GB-VII Growth Fund Investment LP, part of Japanese venture-capital firm Global Brain Corp. Other investors include the University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners Co., iGlobe Platinum Fund II Pte and LKJ Capital Japan Ltd.

While an IPO in Japan is a preferred path to going public, the firm hasn’t ruled out listing in the US through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), and has been approached by investment bankers, one of the people said.

Swat Mobility currently operates in Singapore, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Australia.