Grab yesterday announced that all of Uber’s motorcycle and taxi drivers in Viet Nam would have the opportunity to work for Grab from 8 April.

Uber’s representative office in Viet Nam shuts down after acquisition by Grab. (Photo: VNS)

According to Grab’s announcement to acquire Uber’s Southeast Asia operations, Grab will integrate Uber’s ridesharing and food delivery business in the region into Grab’s existing platform.

As part of the acquisition, Uber will take a 27.5% stake in Grab and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will join Grab’s management board.

"This deal is the largest-ever of its kind in Southeast Asia," ride-hailing service Grab said in a media release yesterday.

"With the combined business, Grab will drive towards becoming the number one online-to-offline (O2O) mobile platform in Southeast Asia and a major player in food delivery."

It will take over Uber’s operations and assets in Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.

“We are humbled that a company born in Southeast Asia has built one of the largest platforms that millions of consumers use daily and provides income opportunities to over five million people. The acquisition marks the beginning of a new era. The combined business is the leader in platform and cost efficiency in the region,” said Anthony Tan, CEO and co-founder of Grab.

“This deal is a testament to Uber’s exceptional growth across Southeast Asia over the last five years. It will help us double down on our plans for growth as we invest heavily in our products and technology to create the best customer experience on the planet,” said CEO of Uber Dara Khosrowshahi.

Uber on the same day also sent emails to its customers, confirming that “Uber will be combining our operations with Grab to lead you in the next chapter of ridesharing in Viet Nam and across Southeast Asia.”

To minimise disruption, Grab and Uber are working to migrate Uber drivers and riders, Uber Eats customers, merchant partners and delivery partners to the Grab platform. The Uber app will continue to operate for two weeks to ensure stability for Uber drivers.

A representative from Grab Viet Nam told VTC News online newspaper that Uber would still operate independently based on their app. All motorcycle and automobile drivers would operate under Uber and don’t need to change or register on Grab’s app.

He said customers and drivers should not be worried as the two apps of Uber and Grab would be operated independently. However, Grab would be the representative unit for both apps in Southeast Asia.

He added that Uber drivers would not be required to change to Grab. The Uber brand would not disappear in Viet Nam. Uber drivers would not need to change to Grab uniforms.

Uber’s withdrawal from Southeast Asia aims to help the corporation increase its profits in the context that it has invested about 10.7 billion US$ since being established nine years ago.

Grab is one of the most frequently used O2O mobile platforms in 195 cities in Southeast Asia. More than 5 million people use the combined platform daily.

(Source: VNS)