Uber In Talks To Sell ASEAN Business To Grab

Written by: Poppy Skinner Created: 19 February 2018

Is Uber about to sell its stake in South East Asia to Grab?

If reports by CNBC are to be believed, then Uber looks set to sell its share in South East Asia to its biggest competitor, Grab. 

Although neither company has spoken on record about the reports, rumours have been swirling for quite some time about a possible sale. Such a move would mirror its exit from China, where Uber sold to Didi Chuxing for a 20 per cent share of the company, and in Russia, where it merged with a local company for a 37 per cent market share. 

The rumoured move could come under the guidance of new Chief Executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, who is said to be keen for Uber to put itself in a more healthy financial position before a possible IPO in 2019. In 2017 they posted a loss of $4.5 billion, meaning an exit from South East Asia could put the IPO in a more stable position. 

While both companies have stayed mute on the subject, a former high-ranking Uber employee who wished to stay anonymous did have this to say to CNBC: “As Uber marches towards an IPO, consolidation like this makes a lot of sense and brings stability to the market by reducing the exorbitant spend on discounts. Uber is not unfamiliar with such merger. Uber has some similar deals in China with Didi and in Russia with Yandex where it has pulled out of the market after taking a stake in the newly formed joint entity.” 

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Written by: Poppy Skinner

Poppy covers a wide range of topics at Billionaire, having spent the past 13 years at companies including Singapore Tatler, Her World Plus and Harpers Bazaar UK. She has a passion for fashion, jewellery and travel as well as an avaricious fascination with crime novels. Follow her at poppypskinner on Instagram.