Grab Holdings Ltd, the largest ride-hailing and food delivery firm in Southeast Asia, has announced plans to acquire Malaysian grocery chain Jaya Grocer Holdings Sdn, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to the agreement, a subsidiary of the Singapore-based Grab will acquire all of Jaya Grocer's ordinary shares and 75% of preference shares, the company said in the filing dated December 13.
Grab's Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) reached a new quarterly record of $4.0 billion, up 32% year-over-year, in the third quarter of its financial year.
Partner With A Local Investor
For regulatory purposes, Grab intends to partner with a local investor which will own 50% of the voting shares in Jaya Grocer, the filing added. The deal comes after Grab increased its control in Indonesian e-wallet OVO earlier this year.
Founded in 2012 as a regional taxi app in Malaysia, Grab operates a 'super app', which provide ride-hailing, food and grocery delivery as well as digital financial services in Southeast Asia.
Jaya Grocer is a leader in the premium grocery segment in Malaysia and operates 40 stores across Peninsular Malaysia, with the majority being located in the Klang Valley near Kuala Lumpur.
The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Grab In Southeast Asia
Grab operates in more than 400 cities in eight countries in the Southeast Asia region - Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Users of the service can order food or groceries, send packages, hail a ride or taxi, pay for online purchases or access services such as lending, insurance, wealth management and telemedicine.
The company, which was founded in 2012 and began trading on the Nasdaq index earlier this month,, says that it 'strives to serve a double bottom line: to simultaneously deliver financial performance for its shareholders and a positive social impact in Southeast Asia'.
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