San Francisco: Uber is selling parts of its Southeast Asia operations to local rival Grab, getting a piece of the action in the process, according to US media reports. Grab is on the cusp of buying Uber’s business in some Southeast Asia markets in a deal that would give the California-based smartphone-summoned ride service a stake in its competitor, reported Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.
The size of the stake could be around 20 per cent or more than 30 per cent, according to the reports, which cited unnamed sources.
Uber did not respond or comment. The US ride share titan faces fierce competition in Asia, not only from Singapore-based Grab but from Ola in India, and Chinese rival Didi Chuxing.
Japanese financial titan Softbank has invested billions of dollars in Uber, Didi, Ola and Grab, and is known for seeking synergies between companies in its portfolio. Didi and Uber ended a ferocious battle in the surging Chinese market in 2016 with a tie-up along the lines of the reported deal with Grab. — AFP
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