Uber have been planning on selling its units to Grab since the previous month. Today, March 26, 2018, Grab and Uber have finalized their agreement.
As per the agreement, Uber will receive a 27.5% stake after selling its Southeast Asia operations to Grab. The countries that will be affected by the agreement are Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Furthermore, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was promised a position in Grab’s executive board.
Grab is also planning on providing more services other than ride-sharing. Among these are food delivery, payments, and financial services. In regards to the deal, Anthony Tan, CEO and co-founder of Grab, has mentioned the following:
“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 fulfill our promise to out-serve 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.”
Both Grab and Uber are planning on transferring the Uber drivers to Grab. As mentioned in the deal, the Uber mobile app will still continue for two more weeks. Grab and Uber Philippines have also sent emails to their users stating that both companies are working on the transition which will be done by April 8, 2018.
