The Exits Are Back. Who Actually Gets Paid?

SEA of Startups · Oct 28, 2026 · 29m

Presented by YourCFO

The biggest company the Philippines has ever floated went public last week. A homegrown name that sits on tens of millions of phones. And when I read the terms, the first thing I felt was not pride. It was a very specific, very familiar itch.

Because the deal priced well below where it was pitched. And most of the money did not go into the company at all. It went to the people who already owned it.

So here is the week in one sentence. The exit door in Southeast Asia has finally swung open after years of being stuck shut. That part is real, and it matters. But a door…