It was first reported last month that Uber could potentially sell its Southeast Asian business to local competitor Grab. Grab has already been giving Uber a very tough time in this market so the word on the street was that Uber was in talks with Grab to sell its business in return for a “sizable stake” in the company. While Uber CEO’s recent comments suggested that the company was not considering a sale, a new report today claims that Uber might sell parts of its Southeast Asia business to Grab.
Citing a source with direct knowledge of the talks, Reuters reports that Grab is in “advanced negotiations” to buy part of Uber’s business in the region. If a deal goes through it would be Uber’s second retreat from an Asian market.
Uber first sold its division in China to local rival Didi in exchange for a 20 percent stake in the company. Uber has also combined its business with Yandex’s ride-hailing service in Russia for a 37 percent stake.
Grab’s potential agreement with Uber is believed to be similar to the one the latter struck in China back in 2016. Grab would then buy out Uber’s business in the region and give it a stake in the company. The sources mentioned in the report have not provided any financial details.
Both Uber and Grab declined to comment on this report so there’s no concrete word from the companies as yet regarding a potential agreement.