On Tuesday (25 Feb), reports emerged that Gojek and Grab – 2 of the biggest private-hire firms in South East Asia – were in talks for a possible merger, reported The Business Times.
This led to many worries about monopoly of the private-hire industry, as well as potential price surges. Previously, Grab and Uber had merged in Southeast Asia in 2018.
Subscription-based online news company The Information quoted individuals who were reportedly familiar with the situation. They claimed that there were serious conversations about a potential merger.
The ownership of the refuted merger was said to be contentious as well — Gojek reportedly wanted a deal where its operations would not be absorbed into Grab’s.
At the same time, Grab allegedly wanted its shareholders to own half of the companies’ Indonesian operations.
Yet, Grab reportedly wanted to have control over the combined entity.
A spokesman from Gojek told The Business Times said that they were not intending to merge with Grab.
There are no plans for any sort of merger, and recent media reports regarding discussions of this nature are not accurate…
Meanwhile, Grab declined to comment on the issue when Business Times reached out.
When news of the potential merger broke out, many netizens were concerned about the hike in prices and monopoly.
Even though nothing is set in stone and talks don’t appear smooth, their worries are understandable.
After all, Grab recently announced a change in their rewards plan, which upset many users since more points are needed to redeem rewards.
Others pointed out that both passengers and drivers will not stand to benefit from a merger.
But with the rumours seemingly dispelled, guess that this won’t be a huge concern for the time being.
Featured image adapted from Tech in Asia.
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