GoTo Gojek Tokopedia has not reached any deal with Singapore-based Grab, the Indonesian company said in response to recent media speculation about an impending announcement.
Headlines and commentary about a potential joining of forces between Southeast Asia’s top ride-hailing platforms have made the rounds for years, but no official confirmation has ever been given.
In a statement Monday, GoTo said it “would like to clarify that, as of now, no decision or agreement has been made in relation to the matter.”
“GoTo welcomes Indonesia’s Government’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the nation’s digital ecosystem and remains committed to supporting and complying with government policies and regulations,” said R.A Koesoemohadiani, GoTo’s director of legal and group corporate secretary.
Grab declined to comment on reports about a potential deal.
GoTo scheduled an extraordinary shareholder meeting for Dec. 17, but Koesoemohadiani said that it isn’t related to “any planned corporate actions” and is part of its “corporate governance procedure and should not be a cause for concern.”
“Our focus continues to be on execution and delivering on our strategic goals to create long-term value for shareholders and the wider GoTo ecosystem,” she said.
Shares of GoTo closed 10% higher on Monday.
Analysts at Citi were not surprised to see news media reports saying that a transaction between Grab and GoTo could be back on the table.
“The surprising point for us is the apparent signal/endorsement from the Indonesia government,” Ferry Wong and Alicia Yap wrote in a note.
If a deal could be agreed upon, there could be upside for Grab’s financial projections and share price, depending on details on structure and valuation, Citi said.
“For investors, the potential upside remains significant…However the possibility of failure or delay remains significant, in our view.”
