SINGAPORE - Grab Holdings and Gojek have made substantial progress in working out a deal to combine their businesses in what would be the biggest Internet merger in South-east Asia, according to people with knowledge of the talks.
Representatives of Grab, Gojek and SoftBank declined to comment. The talks are still fluid and may not result in a transaction, the people said. The deal would need regulatory approval and governments may have antitrust concerns about the unification of the region's two leading ride-hailing companies.
Grab, which is present in eight countries, was last valued at more than US$14 billion , while Gojek, valued at US$10 billion, has presence in Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Sea's surprise journey from a scrappy start-up to South-east Asia's most valuable company in the past 10 years has been the"biggest inspiration" for local internet companies lately, said Rohit Sipahimalani, chief investment strategist at Temasek Holdings.