Grab officially acquires Uber’s Southeast Asian business – Uber to get 27.5% stake in merger

Well, it’s now a done deal. Grab has officially announced it has acquired Uber’s Southeast Asia operations, which is claimed to be the largest-ever deal of its kind in the region. The move will see Uber’s ridesharing and food delivery business be integrated into Grab’s existing platform.

As part of the acquisition, Uber will be given a 27.5% stake in Grab and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will join Grab’s board. The combined business will look to become the number one online-to-offline (O2O) mobile platform in Southeast Asia as well as a major player in food delivery.

To do so, Grab will expand its existing GrabFood businesses in Indonesia and Thailand to two more countries – Singapore and Malaysia – following the integration of the Uber Eats business. By the first half of 2018, GrabFood will be available across all major Southeast Asian countries.

In the transportation sector, Grab is looking to include more localised transport services and new mobility solutions, with examples being GrabCycle and GrabShuttle Plus. Meanwhile, the company will also improve payments and financial services under Grab Financial, and will make the GrabPay mobile wallet available across all major countries in the region by the end of the year.

The Uber app will continue to operate for two weeks, while Uber Eats will run until the end of May. This is to allow for a seamless migrations of Uber drivers and riders, Uber Eats customers, merchant partners and delivery partners to the Grab platform.

Grab says it remains committed to cooperating with local regulators in relation to the acquisition. “Grab believes the acquisition will add to, among others, vibrant and competitive ride-hailing, delivery and transportation spaces, and it will make a merger notification to the Competition Commission of Singapore,” the company said in an official statement.

“We are humbled that a company born in SEA has built one of the largest platforms that millions of consumers use daily and provides income opportunities to over 5 million people. Today’s acquisition marks the beginning of a new era. The combined business is the leader in platform and cost efficiency in the region,” said Anthony Tan, CEO and co-founder of Grab.

“This deal is a testament to Uber’s exceptional growth across Southeast Asia over the last five years. It will help us double down on our plans for growth as we invest heavily in our products and technology to create the best customer experience on the planet. We’re excited to take this step with Anthony and his entire team at Grab, and look forward to Grab’s future in Southeast Asia,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber.

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