JAKARTA. Grab Holdings, the biggest ride-hailing company in Southeast Asia, once again initiates the talk of merging business with PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk (GOTO).

Both companies have reportedly entered the initial phase of discussion regarding various merger scenarios, according to Bloomberg, which had quoted the close source on this merger plan. One of the merger scenarios include Grab acquiring GOTO with cash, equity, or a combination of both.

Said source also mentioned that GOTO has been opening merger opportunities after the new officially appointed CEO last week, Patrick Walujo. This merger is expected to improve transportation and food delivery business line for both Grab and GOTO. In addition, it is also expected to curb the loss of both parties induced by a never-ending competition.

According to IDNFinancials data, the talk about merger between Gojek and Grab had once arisen in September 2020, as well. At that time, the merger plan of both unicorns was said to be backed by funding from Masayoshi Son, Founder and CEO SoftBank.

However, in late 2020, Gojek decided to merge with e-commerce Tokopedia, birthing a new entity, GoTo Group. This merger was then followed by an initial public offering (IPO) in Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), raising fresh funds of IDR 13.73 trillion, in April 2022.

Last November 2022, Tokopedia had been reportedly received an investment worth USD 1.6 billion from TikTok, a social-commerce platform under ByteDance. This merger also marked the return of TikTokShop services in Indonesia.

For the record, GOTO’s stock has dropped 77.13% or 290 points to IDR 86 per share since its IPO. Public investors still claim most of GOTO’s shares, claiming 77.93% of them. (KR/ZH)