Uber sells South East Asia business to rival Grab
Uber will sell its South East Asia business to rival Grab as it surrenders to stiff competition in the region.
Uber will take a 27.5 per cent stake in the combined company after it agreed to merge with Grab. Approximately 500 Uber workers across the region will transition over to Uber’s rival. Customers will also be moved over to Grab’s apps.
In 2016, Uber agreed to sell its operations in China to Didi Chuxing, in a deal reported to be worth $35bn. Before the deal, Uber was burning more than $1bn a year on its Chinese operations, which had become its largest market but was not affording the company any profit.
In a letter to Uber staff, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said he thought that selling the business to Grab was the “right thing to do”.
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“These are never easy decisions and I know this will mean a big change for you and your families, but I believe that combining forces with Grab is the right thing to do for Uber for the long term,” he said.
Uber invested $700m (£493m) in the region in 2013, when it moved into Singapore.
Anthony Tan, Grab’s co-founder and CEO, said: “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. Together with Uber, we are now in an even better position to fulfil 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.”
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