Grab Seeks to Merge Digital Payment Firms in Indonesia

Grab is looking to gain pole position in Indonesia’s budding digital payment market, reportedly exploring a merger between two major players – a local entity it owns and another one backed by China’s Ant Financial.

A merger between Grab-backed ONO and Ant-backed DANA would give the ride hailer app an edge over its major Indonesia competitor Gojek, which has been vying for the top spot in digital payments with ONO since 2018.

The deal would also result in Grab acquiring a majority interest in DANA from Indonesian media conglomerate Elang Mahkota Teknologi (Emtek).

It’s part of the Grab-Gojek battle, one of the sources said.

According to the report, SoftBank, Grab’s largest shareholder, supports the proposal with the plan having already been discussed in July during a meeting in Jakarta between SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and top Indonesian officials.

Son is in favor, another source said, adding that negotiation on deal structure with the Indonesian central bank will also be required due to foreign ownership restrictions.