Singapore-headquartered ride hailing platform Grab is raising new funding in a round that will be co-led by telecommunications group SoftBank and China-based ride ordering company Didi Chuxing, Bloomberg reported today.
The round could close as early as next week and could be sized at more than $600m, according to people familiar with the deal, one of which stated Grab intends to raise another $400m in the next few weeks.
Grab operates an app-based ride hailing service that spans 30 cities across Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Phillipines. Customers can book taxis, private cars, bikes, carpooled rides or express delivery services through the app.
News of the round comes only days after Didi Chuxing acquired Uber China in a deal that also involved it investing $1bn in US-based Uber, Grab’s biggest rival in Southeast Asia. Grab was part of the global ‘anti-Uber’ alliance spearheaded by Didi Chuxing last year, the status of which is now in question.
Interestingly, sources told Bloomberg yesterday that Uber plans to shift 150 of its China-situated engineers to Southeast Asia to boost its capabilities in the region, which inevitably raises questions regarding conflicts of interest for Didi Chuxing.
The new funding will follow $690m raised by Grab since it was founded in 2011 as GrabTaxi.
SoftBank and Didi Chuxing both took part in Grab’s last round, a $350m series E round closed in August 2015 that also included China Investment Corporation, Tiger Global Management and Coatue Management, and which reportedly valued it at $1.5bn.
SoftBank had previously paid $250m for a 40% stake in Grab in late 2014. Conglomerate Lippo Group is also an investor, a fact it revealed in March 2016 when announcing a strategic partnership with the company.