Late last year Uber sold off its business in China to a competitor, and now it looks like the Southeast Asia region could follow a similar path.
Instead of the rumors spread on whether Grab and Under could possibly be under one roof as written by Seasia earlier, ride-hailing company Uber was recently reported as planning to sell its Southeast Asia business to Grab for a sizable stake.
CNBC reports that it's preparing to make a deal with Grab, a company that claimed to have 95 percent of ride-hailing business in the region last year.
Although no deal has been reached yet, the CNBC report quoted two sources with knowledge of the matter who say it is imminent.The move is said to mirror Uber's strategy in China where it sold its operation to Didi for a 20% ownership.
Grab additionally provides car-pooling services too in more than 100 cities across Southeast Asia. A tie-up would also enable SoftBank - which has invested in both - to exert greater control over the global ride-sharing market. Additionally, it also owns shares in Ola, Didi and Brazil's 99.
Since taking over the reins last year, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has focused on cleaning up the company's battered reputation. In fact, Uber’s settlement with Alphabet’s self-driving car unit Waymo last week is a feather in his cap.
"We strive to be and should be a brand that is as beloved as Amazon and Google," Khosrowshahi had said at a Goldman Sachs' conference last week.He also laid out the company’s ambitions, which included dabbling its hands on food delivery, autonomous vehicles and even buses and two-wheelers.
The former Expedia CEO has also been working towards fine-tuning Uber's financials to push toward profitability. The company recently reported a loss of $4.5 billion for 2017 - hinting at further losses to achieve the aforementioned goals.
So, let's wait what's next for Uber and Grab!
Source : engadget.com and ET Online
