Listen to this articleIndonesia’s Gojek denied a report that it’s discussing a merger with rival Grab Holdings Inc, a deal that would combine the leading ride-hailing businesses in Southeast Asia.
“There are no plans for any sort of merger and recent media reports regarding discussions of this nature are not accurate,” Gojek said in an emailed statement on Feb 25.
Management teams from the two companies have talked occasionally over the past few years about a deal, and Grab President Ming Maa and Gojek Co-Chief Executive Officer Andre Soelistyo met earlier this month for the latest discussion, The Information reported, citing people familiar with the matter. While talks are believed to be ongoing, a big roadblock to a deal is agreeing on control of the combined entity, according to the report.
Any deal would also likely face regulatory hurdles because it would combine the top two players in the region, reducing competition in ride-hailing and newer fields like food-delivery and finance. Grab and Gojek, valued at USD$14 billion and USD$10 billion respectively, used to compete with Uber Technologies Inc. before the U.S. company sold its operations in the region to Grab in 2018, retaining about a 27.5% stake.
That deal drew the ire of regulators, who weren’t given a say ahead of time. Singapore ultimately fined Uber and Grab the equivalent of USD$9.5 million, but let the combination stand.
A Grab spokesperson declined to comment on the report.
source: https://www.theedgemarkets.com/
MARKETING Magazine is not responsible for the content of external sites.
The APPIES is an annual event that presents a rare opportunity for creative, media, digital and marketing agencies or brands to present their best campaigns to the industry.
This is the only event where Live Presentations meets Live Judging.
Similar to TED Talks, The APPIES is the chance for great presenters with outstanding work to show it off to some of the industry’s most important industry leaders.
This year’s winners will receive Gold, Silver or Bronze trophies for 10 categories, and 7 special Best of Best categories (red trophies) that require no submissions!
Campaign entries must have run between June 2022 to May 2023
For more details visit https://appies.com.my/ or contact Vishnu
