Grab acquires Uber's share of business in Southeast Asia

SINGAPORE, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Singapore-based technology company Grab said here Monday that it has acquired Uber's Southeast Asia operations, recording the largest acquisition by a Southeast Asian internet company.

Under the deal, Grab gets Uber's ridesharing and food delivery businesses in eight countries in the region - Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. In return, Uber will own a 27.5-percent stake in Grab.

Following the integration with the Uber Eats business, GrabFood will be available across all major Southeast Asian countries in the first half of 2018. Grab will also develop its transport services to offer more localized transport services and new mobility solutions.

To minimize disruption, Grab and Uber are working together to migrate Uber drivers and riders, Uber Eats customers, merchant partners and delivery partners to the Grab platform. The Uber app will continue to operate for two weeks, and Uber Eats will run until the end of May.

One of the most frequently used O2O mobile platforms in Southeast Asia, Grab is financed by the world's two largest global ride-hailing companies (DiDi Chuxing and Uber), and Japan's SoftBank Group, which is also Uber's investor.

Anthony Tan, Grab group CEO and co-founder, said, "Together with Uber, we are now in an even better position to fulfill our promise to outserve our customers. Their trust in us as a transport brand allows us to look towards the next step as a company: improving people's lives through food, payments and financial services." Enditem