Private ride-hailing service Grab on Monday confirmed that it has acquired Uber鈥檚 operation in Southeast Asia.
In a statement, Grab said the deal was the largest acquisition by a Southeast Asian internet company,鈥� which reflects the company鈥檚 leadership position in the region.
鈥淕rab is acquiring Uber鈥檚 rideshare and food delivery businesses in Southeast Asia, and integrating them into Grab鈥檚 leading transportation and fintech platform,鈥� the statement read.
Grab said Uber would take 27.5% stake in Grab, which it said was 鈥渞eflective of the companies鈥� respective market shares.鈥�
鈥淭he acquisition accelerates Grab鈥檚 path to profitability in its core transport business, as it鈥檚 the most cost efficient Southeast Asian platform,鈥� it said.
The acquisition, it said, 鈥渞eflects Grab鈥檚 transport market leadership in Southeast Asia.鈥�
Anthony Tan, group CEO and co-founder of Grab said the acquisition of Uber 鈥渕arks the beginning of a new era.鈥�
鈥淲e 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鈥檚 acquisition marks the beginning of a new era,鈥� Tan said.
鈥淭he 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 serve our customers,鈥� he added.
Their trust in us as a transport brand allows us to look towards the next step as a company: improving people鈥檚 lives through food, payments and financial services.
Aside from Uber鈥檚 rideshare, Grab has also acquired Uber鈥檚 food delivery businesses in Southeast Asia.
鈥淕rab will also take over the Uber Eats operations to immediately become a major player in food delivery services,鈥� it said.
Grab said the GrabFood service would expand from two existing countries to all major Southeast Asian countries by next quarter.
鈥淭his will be another great use case to drive continued adoption of the GrabPay mobile wallet and support Grab鈥檚 growing Financial Services platform,鈥� it said. /cbb