To merge or not to merge

THE biggest news this week was the potential sale of foodpanda’s food delivery business in South-east Asia to Grab. This bears echoes of Grab’s acquisition of Uber’s South-east Asia business in 2018.

On paper, it seems like a no-brainer. Grab can cement its place as the region’s leader in food delivery, and foodpanda can finally exit the business here with some potential upside. However, Grab’s acquisition of foodpanda is likely to fall afoul of more than just competition commissions across the region. 

Grab rode on positive investor sentiments to its recent second-quarter results, with its share price rallying up to close on a high of US$3.83 on Sep 1. Fuelling that were narrowing losses and a bright outlook of an even earlier Ebitda breakeven.