Global taxi hailing startup Uber Technologies Inc., is withdrawing its South East Asian operations and has agreed to sell its business to rival Grab.
According to reports, the US based ride hailing firm has reached an agreement to sell its business to the bigger, regional rival Grab. This move marks the second time the company had to retreat from Asia. As per the agreement, Uber would get a 30% stake in the combined business while Grab will acquire all of Uber’s operations including their food delivery service UberEats. Uber’s Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi will join the board of the Singapore based company, post the transaction. The transaction would also value Grab at $6 billion, the same valuation it commanded in its most recent capital raising.
Speaking about the acquisition Grab’s Chief Executive Officer Anthony Tan said, “Today’s acquisition marks the beginning of a new era. The combined business is the leader in platform and cost efficiency in the region.” The cease fire also marks a victory for the Japan based venture capital firm SoftBank Group Corp., who is currently the biggest shareholder in both companies. The venture firm has been pushing to reduce competition in the Southeast Asian ride hailing market in order to reach a market capitalization of $20.1 billion by 2025.
This is the third time the company sold one of its businesses to rivals in foreign markets. In 2016, Uber had to sell its business in China to Didi Chuxing after a fierce battle in which both the companies burned through cash to court drivers and riders with rich subsidies. In 2017, Uber had to negotiate a similar deal in Russia selling the firm’s Russian business to the ride hailing firm Yandex.
After Dara Khosrowshahi took over as the chief executive officer, the company has been focusing on cleaning up the company’s financials preparing for the initial public offering set for next year. However, according to Khosrowshahi, the company is committed to key markets such as Japan and India. In a statement, Khosrowshahi said, “(The deal) will help us double down on our plans for growth as we invest heavily in our products and technology.”
Founded in 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Grab is one of South East Asia’s dominant ride hailing service. In the past 4 years, the company has managed to raise $4 billion from investors and offer services in 191 cities across Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia.
