Uber today has officially announced that its operations in Southeast Asia will be acquired by its closest and fiercest regional rival, Grab. This announcement confirms all the rumors that have been going around for the last few months.
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As a result of the deal, the US-based company will receive a 27.5% stake in the combined entity. At the same time, the CEO of Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi will also be part of Grab’s board.
Aside from Uber’s transportation platform, Grab will also receive UberEATS as part of the acquisition. The company has wasted no time to announce that Grab will be expanding its GrabFood services to all major countries within Southeast Asia in the first half of 2018 following the integration of UberEATS into its business.
The acquisition of Uber’s operations in Southeast Asia can be seen as a massive win for Grab, which began its operations as a e-hailing startup in Malaysia just a few years ago. On another hand, the acquisition also means that Grab now dominates the ride-sharing market throughout the region.
Without any major competition around, the inevitable question arises: how will this acquisition mean for consumers in the near future, who have long enjoyed rebates and discounted rides thanks to the stiff competition between Uber and Grab. Only time will tell.
(Source: Uber, Grab, Grab Malaysia, Bloomberg)
