Both companies were backed primarily by SoftBank, and both clutch on Indonesia as the key market


Singapore-based ride-hailing platform Grab is
reportedly in discussion to invest RS 697.7 crore (US$100 million) in Indian hotel booking platform OYO. The Indian company is still in an ongoing US$1 billion funding round, and Grab’s additional funding will take a part in it.

The deal is expected to be closed within the next few days, according to Economic Times.

From the company’s source, the investment would be made through Grab’s controlled investment entity A1 Holdings Inc, which now valued at US$11 billion after closing its funding round in August.

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Back in March, Grab managed to acquire its rival in Southeast Asia, Uber, and continues to go head-to-head with Go-Jek in Indonesia, the unicorn ride-hailing platform originally from the country.

Grab has been focusing on expanding its service from ride-hailing and food delivery to grocery delivery to healthcare with some of its recent partnership moves.

Just last October, OYO announced that the company has started operation in Indonesia with over 1,000 hotel and rooms in cities like Jakarta, Surabaya, and Palembang. Making Indonesia its focus, they have shared the plans of US$100 million investment for operation in over 35 cities in the country by next year.

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Gurgaon-based OYO’s equity fundraising would have raised $900 million, and expected to close on US$100 million by the end of this year.

So far, OYO has operations in China, where the company designated US$600 million of the latest funding for the country alongside India and other overseas markets such as Southeast Asia and the UK.

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