Indonesian super-app player Gojek is refuting a report that it is holding talks on a potential merger with Grab, a spokesman told The Business Times yesterday.
Earlier in the day, The Information reported that the two companies are holding talks on a potential merger, although roadblocks remain to negotiating how control of the combined entity will be split.
"There are no plans for any sort of merger, and recent media reports regarding discussions of this nature are not accurate," the Gojek spokesman said.
Grab declined to comment.
According to The Information's report, which cited people familiar with the matter, both companies' management teams have had serious conversations about a potential merger in the past few months.
Early this month, Grab president Ming Maa and Gojek chief executive Andre Soelistyo were said to have attended the latest discussion.
However, a major point of contention is said to lie in who will control the combined entity.
The Information reported that Gojek does not want its operations to be absorbed into Grab.
Meanwhile, Grab reportedly told its major investors that Gojek wants a deal where its shareholders would own half of the companies' combined Indonesian operations. However, Grab is said to be seeking control of the combined entity, including the Indonesian operations.
In addition, the potential deal may face regulatory scrutiny, given that Grab's earlier acquisition of Uber's South-east Asian business was found to have violated Singapore's anti-competition laws.
National University of Singapore Business School associate professor Lawrence Loh said the potential merger need not involve the entire Gojek and Grab, but can concern specific units or businesses.
"The overriding consideration will be the likelihood of getting regulatory approval in each of the markets, particularly if ride-hailing is the area of interest," he said.
Talk of a potential merger comes as both Grab and Gojek continue to raise blockbuster funding rounds, while there is little clarity on their path to profitability.
Last week, Nikkei reported that Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Japan's largest bank, had agreed to invest US$700 million (S$980 million) in Grab.
In its latest investment, Grab raised more than US$850 million from MUFG and TIS Inc to bankroll its expansion into financial services in the region, Bloomberg News reported.
The sum includes US$706 million from MUFG and US$150 million from TIS, a provider of data centre and cloud services, said the companies yesterday.
Grab, backed by SoftBank Group, has been expanding into financial services, building on its ride-hailing, food delivery and e-wallet offerings in an effort to become a one-stop shop for on-demand services in the region.
The company will co-develop financial products and solutions for the region with the two investors, Grab said in a statement.
THE BUSINESS TIMES
