Gojek closes in on deal to buy 5% of Indonesia taxi operator Blue Bird: sources

[JAKARTA] Gojek, the Indonesian all-purpose super app provider, is nearing an agreement to buy 5 per cent of top local taxi operator PT Blue Bird, according to people familiar with the matter.

Gojek would pay about US$30 million, the people said, asking not to be named discussing a private matter. That implies a price of more than 20 per cent above what Blue Bird closed at in Jakarta on Monday and would value the company at about US$600 million.

The deal would build on an existing partnership - closely held Gojek already offers taxi reservations for Blue Bird's taxis on its app - as the companies face mounting competition from Singapore-based Grab Holdings Inc. It would also mark as one of the latest investments for Gojek, which at US$10 billion is the country's most valuable startup, as it expands in areas such as food delivery and digital payments.

Asked to comment, Gojek said it doesn't comment on market speculation. A Blue Bird representative couldn't immediately comment.

"The stake acquisition should bring further synergies," Jessica Pratiwi, an analyst at RHB Sekuritas Indonesia, said in a note to clients. Bookings through Gojek account for about 20 per cent of Blue Bird's regular taxi orders, she said.

Blue Bird shares gained as much as 5.1 per cent and were up 0.7 per cent at 9.45am in Jakarta. The shares rallied a record 29 per cent during the final two trading days of last week.

BLOOMBERG