Anthony Tan. Photographer: Ore Huiying/Bloomberg
Singapore’s ride-hailing major Grab on Monday announced that it has acquired Uber’s Southeast Asia operations, including ridesharing and food delivery business in the region. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will join Grab’s board.
In a statement, Grab said this is the largest acquisition by a Southeast Asian internet firm. No financial terms were disclosed.
“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 fulfil our promise to outserve 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,” said Grab co-founder and Group CEO Anthony Tan.
Under the agreement, Grab will take over Uber’s operations and assets in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The deal marks an exit for Uber from yet another market. It has previously ceded China to ride-hailing leader Didi Chuxing, also an investor in Grab, in 2016 in return for a 17.5 per cent stake. The American firm later sold its Russian business to Yandex.
In an email to Uber employees about the agreement, Khosrowshahi said, “One of the potential dangers of our global strategy is that we take on too many battles across too many fronts and with too many competitors. This transaction now puts us in a position to compete with real focus and weight in the core markets where we operate, while giving us valuable and growing equity stakes in a number of big and important markets where we don’t.”
However, the payoff may not be too bad for Uber. “After investing $700 million in the region, we will hold a stake worth several billion dollars, and strategic ownership in what we believe will be the winner in an important global region,” Khosrowshahi noted in his email.
Grab is confident of gaining regulatory approval for the deal. “Grab believes the acquisition will add to, among others, vibrant and competitive ride-hailing, delivery and transportation spaces, and it will make a merger notification to the Competition Commission of Singapore,” it said.
The merger excludes Uber’s car rental subsidiary, Lion City Rentals, a Grab spokesperson said. Uber had sold a 51 per cent stake in LCR to the city-state’s largest taxi operator ComfortDelGro last year. That deal underwent a comprehensive review by the Competition Commission.
Speculation about the merger gained ground after Grab’s early backer SoftBank Group Corp acquired a nearly 15 per cent stake in Uber in January. The move is seen as an attempt to stem costs at the American firm before it heads to the public markets for an IPO that could happen as early as next year.
More at https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/uber-southeast-asia-business-grab-94934/
Grab’s acquisition of Uber is an utter mess
These past few days has given us all the confirmation that Grab is helmed by a juvenile team who has no idea how to actually run a company. This is demonstrated when they treat their staff and workers with complete disrespect. We have frequently heard driver’s allegations staff mismanagement: the bugs in their technology, the contempt they have for workers and their unforgiving rewards system. But this episode gives us the clearest indication of mismanagement.
Look at what happened over these past few days:
a.) There was no clear communication to staff, everyone was hit by fear, uncertainty and doubt
There were news reports telling us that staff of Uber were told to pack up and leave within two hours. It is apparent that no one knows what’s going on and staff were left thinking they were fired. It was only hours later that they found out that they were forced to take leave until such time that they were found new roles.
“During the meeting, we were told to pack up, shut down operations and leave the office by 12.30pm. We were given no updates about severance package or anything,” said the 24-year-old, who joined the company in March last year and whose contract was to run until September.
“After the meeting, everyone was left speechless. Some people were in tears. I was devastated and I felt very lost. All of a sudden I was out of a job,” said a Mr. Mohd to the press.
b.) There was no communication to stake holders
Uber themselves clearly doesn’t know what to do either. They have made no effort to communicate with even the trade associations. National Trades Union Congress assistant director-general Ang Hin Kee, who is the executive adviser to the National Private Hire Vehicles Association, said the labour movement tried to contact Uber on Monday to get more information but “all the phone lines, emails were out and we couldn’t get in touch with anybody”.
Two big multi-national firms are unable to man their phone lines? And they dare boast of technological advancements?
c.) There was no communication to regulating bodies
Even the Competition Commission of Singapore did not receive formal notice of Grab’s acquisition. Two big multinational firms with legal departments that are able to challenge driver’s claims day in and out, are unable to advice themselves of administrative duties? Unbelievable.
d.) There was only one piece of public communication, and it was through Facebook
You know when someone wants to breakup with you and they do it through a text message? This is it. One would expect a disaster of this scale to be addressed by their chief. Nope, this is just their version of the HR Director. “…do pass (the message) on to your colleagues”, is the best that they could do.
Why is there no formal chain of contact? Why this informal means of calling for people to a town hall meeting? And should this town hall meeting be scheduled long before the acquisition was done?
e.) It appears that this company has no idea what to do and how to do it
All this is just very sloppy work. Everything could have been prepared in advance, press could have been alerted in advance and trade union partners be roped in to help. And now, what they have on their hands is both an operational, substantial and a PR disaster. A mess.
They have made money by making more cabs available to consumers, however this pig is now starting to become more human-like (a George Orwell reference, for those of you unfamiliar). It is time to remind them of who has enabled them to churn a profit – it is the people and the people’s strong support that has kept government intervention at bay.
They have survived thus far by hiding behind the cloak of technology, calling themselves a “tech business” and not a “taxi business”. However, they won’t be able to do this for long. Courts around the world have passed decisions and confirmed that they are in substance, in the business of taxis. In Singapore, they should be regulated like so.
http://www.fivestarsandamoon.com/2018/03/grabs-acquisition-of-uber-is-an-utter-mess/
Well its survival of the fittest, congrats to Grab on ingesting Uber here. Btw.....
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6384022262227533824
Uh oh........
ComfortDelgro told cabbies to delete Uber app
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/comfortdelgro-tells-its-cabbies-to-delete-uber-app
Taxi giant ComfortDelGro has told its cabbies to delete the Uber app on their phones, following the American ride-hailing firm's sale of its South-east Asian business to rival Grab on Monday (March 26).
Meanwhile, Grab has reached out to displaced Uber staff. On Facebook and LinkedIn, the Singapore-headquartered firm uploaded photos of new work spaces for Uber employees who were let go on Monday.
Publicly listed ComfortDelGro, in a text message to its estimated 23,000 hirer-drivers on Monday evening, said: "Dear cabbies, UberFlash will cease on April 8 2018. You may delete the Uber driver app any time now since it will no longer be in use. ComfortDelGro will continue to provide you jobs... We thank you for your continued support."
Uber or Grab Founder's wife more chio?
FAREWELL CODE FROM UBER?????
Enjoy S$5 off your next 10 rides.
Activate this offer in your Uber app as shown below. You can also enter the promo code ride51k3yc using these instructions.
From: uber.singapore <uber.singapore@uber.com> Date: Mon,Mar 26,2018 0:10 AM To: *** Subject: Fw: Just for you, here's S$5 off 10 rides
Softbank playing puppetmaster in the shadows, the beginning of the end for Uber.