Rumor has it that Uber is gearing up to sell its Southeast Asia business to regional competitor Grab, according to CNBC. As a part of the purported deal, Uber would get a stake in Grab.
At the Dealbook conference in November 2017, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi noted that he thought the company was “over capitalized” in Southeast Asia, adding he was “not optimistic that market is going to be profitable anytime soon.” Part of the difficulty in Southeast Asia, he said, is that rivals are dishing up more than food delivery and ride-hailing services. Competitors like Grab are also building out global payments platforms.
Grab is in 168 cities across eight continents; the app has been downloaded onto 77 million devices, the company says.
Uber has made similar deals with Yandex in Russia and Didi in China, in which the company sold off its regional business in exchange for a stake. Khosrowshahi has been focused on bringing down costs as he prepares Uber for an IPO.
Both Uber and Grab declined to comment on this story.
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