Technology
Indonesia’s GoTo denies merger talks with ride-hailing rival Grab
A Gojek driver looks at a smartphone in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok agreed to invest $1.5 billion in a joint venture with Indonesia’s GoTo Group that it will control, part of a pact that lets the Chinese company restart its shopping app in its biggest online-retail market. Photographer: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Dimas Ardian | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Indonesian tech giant GoTo on Tuesday denied it is in merger discussions with Singapore-based ride-hailing rival Grab.
“The company would also like to emphasize that currently, the company is not having any discussion on such matters,” said GoTo in a Tuesday filing.
The comment comes after Bloomberg reported Friday that the two companies have restarted talks for a potential merger as they look to stem losses arising from intense competition with each other.
“The company would like to emphasize that the company has an increasingly strong fundamentals and financial position,” said GoTo. The firm added that it has achieved “positive adjusted EBITDA target in Q4 2023, while exceeding the top end of its full year adjusted EBITDA guidance range.”
EBITDA refers to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, which is an alternate measure of profitability to net income.
The company is set to release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 results in March.
Grab closed 1.2% lower on the Nasdaq on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off in U.S. markets. Indonesian markets are closed Wednesday as millions cast their ballots.
