Reports from REUTERS said that Ride-hailing firm has agreed to sell its Southeast Asian business to bigger regional rivals, GRAB.

The deal was announced as early as Monday marks the industry’s first big consolidation in Southeast Asia, which is home to about 650 million people and as such puts pressure on its rivals Go-Jek which is backed by Alphabet Google’s parent company and China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd.

As part of the transaction, Uber would get as much as 30 percent stake in the combined business, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter who did not want to be identified as the deal is not yet public.

Another source familiar with the deal said Uber would acquire a 25 percent to 30 percent stake in Grab, valuing the entire business at $6 billion, the same valuation it commanded in its most recent capital raising.

Uber and Singapore-based Grab, Southeast Asia’s biggest ride-hailing firm, declined to comment.

Expectations of consolidation in Asia’s fiercely competitive ride-hailing industry were stoked earlier this year when Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp made a multi-billion dollar investment in Uber.

SoftBank is also one of the main investors in several of Uber’s rivals, including Grab, China’s Didi Chuxing, and India’s Ola.

Uber, which is preparing for a potential initial public offering in 2019, lost $4.5 billion last year and is facing fierce competition at home and in Asia, as well as a regulatory crackdown in Europe.

It is also recovering from a year of scandals that saw co-founder Travis Kalanick forced out as chief executive in June amid U.S. criminal inquiries and a workplace marred by sexual harassment allegations




https://www.pekipan.com/uber-pulls-out-of-southeast-asia-selling-operation-to-rivals-grab/