[ad_1]
Singapore
ALIBABA is said to be in talks to invest the sum of $ 3 billion in the Southeast Asian private transport company Grab. Observers say the deal, if successful, could complicate efforts for a merger between Grab and rival Gojek.
On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Alibaba is in talks with Grab about the $ 3 billion investment, part of which would be used to acquire some of Grab’s shares held by US ride-sharing company Uber Technologies.
Uber had a 23.2 percent stake in Grab at the end of 2018, which the US-based transportation giant had acquired when it exited Southeast Asia. Grab faces a $ 2 billion payment to Uber if it goes unlisted in March 2023.
The news of a possible investment from Alibaba comes just days after media reports indicated that Gojek and Grab resumed merger talks with the SoftBank order, but negotiations remain difficult.
If Alibaba’s investment prospers, it would likely be the Chinese e-commerce giant’s biggest deal in Southeast Asia after it spent $ 4 billion to take control of Singapore-based Lazada.
But Alibaba’s entry could intensify antitrust concerns related to a Grab-Gojek merger.
“(As) if a Grab-Gojek merger was not difficult enough, the entry of Alibaba and its associated business will increase regulatory scrutiny,” said Justin Tang, director and head of Asian research at the United First Partners advisory group.
He noted that if there is insufficient competition for the merged entity, regulators may have to impose behavioral or structural remedies. The first involves restricting certain stocks, while the second may require the divestment of certain units.
Then there is the question of potential investor conflict. Alibaba and its tech rival Tencent don’t invest in the same companies, said Joel Shen, a technology attorney at the global law firm Withers.
“So if Grab and Gojek were to merge, we could find ourselves in an unprecedented situation where both Alibaba and Tencent rank high on the capitalization chart. Although it is too early to say at this stage, this may set the stage for a future consolidation in different verticals, “he said.
Some observers, however, are more skeptical about whether Alibaba’s investment will actually materialize. An observer familiar with such transactions speculated that the discussions may have been deliberately leaked to publicly strengthen the bargaining power of certain parties in the Grab-Gojek merger talks.
Reports that Alibaba wanted to invest in Grab emerged earlier in 2018. TechCrunch reported that SoftBank, which owns a stake in Alibaba, had previously helped the group secure its investment in Indonesian e-commerce player Tokopedia before rival Tencent. In return, SoftBank is said to have attached a condition to the Tokopedia agreement that Alibaba would invest in Grab, according to the report.
One of the unknowns is how large a stake in Grab, a $ 3 billion investment, would actually go to Alibaba. Some consider that even if Alibaba doesn’t gain control of Grab, it will still benefit.
“For Alibaba, it gives them the opportunity to create some synergy with a major regional technology company without the burden of taking control, as their experience with Lazada and some Ant companies showed that operating (in Southeast Asia) is not easy. , “said Li Jianggan, CEO of business builder Momentum Works.
The prospect of the Alibaba-Grab deal is especially interesting in light of the ongoing consolidation in Indonesia’s payments space, Li said. Grip-backed Ovo has reportedly been in merger talks with Dana, backed by Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial.
“The potential Ovo-Dana merger, if combined with Alibaba-Grab’s investment, will generate some interesting dynamics in financial and payment services in Indonesia,” he said.
- Garage is BT’s startup vertical. Read more news, analysis and opinions at bt.sg/garage
[ad_2]
