Following months of speculation, Uber has announced it will sell its Southeast Asian operations to Singapore-based rival Grab.
The acquisition includes both the taxi-hailing and food delivery business – Uber Eats, in the eight countries Grab has a presence, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar and Cambodia.
As part of the deal, Uber will receive a 27.5 per cent stake in Grab.
The move has been heralded as a positive move for both sides to end the “war of attrition” and intense competition, though industry speculators worry the merger could see less competitive rates for consumers.
Anthony Tan, group CEO and co-founder of Grab said: “[The] 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 serve 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.”
According to Grab, the two companies are working to migrate Uber drivers and riders, Uber Eats customers, merchant partners and delivery partners to the Grab platform.
The Uber app will continue to operate for two weeks until April 8, 2018. Information on how to transfer to the new Grab platform can be found here: grab.com/sg/comingtogether.
Uber Eats will run until the end of May, after which Uber delivery and restaurant partners will move to the GrabFood platform.
However, Uber for Business services will not be supported in Southeast Asia after the transition.
This marks the second time Uber has retreated from an Asian destination, following the merger of its China operations with local company Didi Chuxing.
