Ride-hailing giant Grab has acquired the Southeast Asian operations of its rival Uber. In a statement on Monday (Mar 26), Grab said it is acquiring Uber’s rideshare and food delivery business, Uber Eats, in the region and integrating them into its own platform. In exchange, Uber will receive a 27.5% stake in Grab and Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi will join Grab’s board, media reports said.
Grab said it will extend its leadership as the most cost efficient Southeast Asian platform, as it takes over Uber’s operations and assets in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The confirmation comes following much speculation on the acquisition, which marks the industry’s first big consolidation in the region, home to about 640 million people.
Earlier this year, Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp made a multi-million dollar investment in Uber. The company is also one of the main investors in several of Uber’s rivals including Grab and China’s Didi Chuxing.
