This is a story of a truce between two rival companies. Southeast Asian ridesharing, food delivery, and mobile payments platform giant Grab might soon merge with its Indonesian competitor, GoTo. While the two companies deny it, Reuters says it has sources confirming they are already in advanced merger talks. Here is the scoop from Ridesharing Forum.
Merger
According to sources who do not wish to be identified, Grab and GoTo might merge very soon as a new round of merger talks has begun. This would allow these two firms to compensate for the stem years of losses.
The first merger talks happened sometime in 2024, resumed in December, and again recently with the investors allegedly eager to reach a deal this year.
GoTo, also popularly known as Gojek, is an Indonesian technology company formed in 2021 as a result of a merger as well between the country’s two most valuable startups, ride-hailing giant Gojek and eCommerce firm Tokopedia.
Grab is a Singaporean multinational technology company founded by two Malaysian businesspeople. It operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Denial
While Reuters does not have information about Grab’s official statement on this, they reported GoTo’s statement on this speculation.
“There have been no discussions by the company regarding any agreement with Grab,” GoTo’s corporate secretary R.A. Koesoemohadiani told the Indonesia Stock Exchange. “The company affirms that no agreement has been made with any party regarding a merger transaction, as reported in the media.”
But, governments are ‘already on their toes’ on the possible merger, marketing experts say
Meanwhile, marketing experts say governments in the two’s key markets are already “on their toes” about the possibility of a merger.
David Lim, the co-founder and fractional chief marketing officer at Avante Strategies, a marketing-centric firm that leverages business insights, said, "Both Grab and GoTo have serviced the Southeast Asia population for a substantial number of years, creating a high level of convenience that fits right in the lives of millions. Should this merger materialize, there will be deep socio-economic impacts.”
He added the synergy within the Grab ecosystem for Indonesia and the scale of the market to tap into the fullest potential of its subsidiary technologies such as Grab Maps and its existing fulfillment platform will be promising.
"GoTo’s capabilities in the eCommerce space, having run the biggest eCommerce platform in Indonesia, Tokopedia, for a long time, will probably ignite Grab’s aspiration to provide a brand-new space for its users,” Lim stated.
Bringing harm
On the other hand, another business expert, Nishant Kaushal, the founder and chief executive officer of ADNA Research, a data-powered Creative Intelligence consultancy, shared that the possible merger may bring harmful market dominance against the two companies’ users.
“A merger between Grab and GoTo would significantly reduce competition within the ride-hailing and food delivery sectors in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia, the region’s largest market. This consolidation could lead to narrower consumer choices, potentially resulting in higher prices and stifled innovation,” Kaushal stated.