Grab and GoTo in advanced merger talks, sources say

SINGAPORE: Southeast Asian ride-hailing and food delivery company Grab is in advanced talks to merge with its smaller Indonesian rival GoTo as the firms seek to stem years of losses, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

A new round of merger talks, which were last held in 2024, resumed in December, with investors eager to reach a deal in 2025. An agreement may not happen, said the sources, with negotiations in previous years all falling through. The people declined to be identified as the talks are private.

GoTo was formed after Gojek and e-commerce platform Tokopedia merged in 2021.

Grab and GoTo declined to comment. The revived talks were first reported by DealStreetAsia

GoTo shares, listed in Jakarta, ended 7.4 per cent higher on reports of the talks, while Grab was last up 8.8 per cent in premarket trading. Combined, the companies are worth nearly US$25 billion.

GoTo, however, said in a filing on Tuesday (Feb 4) that it was not engaged in discussions about a potential merger transaction with any party, noting media reports involving Grab Holdings.

Separately, it also said: "The company does not have any material corporate action plans for the next 12 months other than the implementation of share buybacks".

GoTo's Indonesian e-commerce unit Tokopedia was taken over by Tiktok in December 2023, in a deal where the Chinese social media giant would invest US$1.5 billion in the unit in exchange for a 75 per cent controlling stake.

In December 2020, Grab reportedly informed its staff that it was in a position to acquire Gojek.

GoTo said in February last year that it was not in any discussion with Grab about a potential merger.