Grab, the ride-hailing service in Southeast Asia, expands its footprint by acquiring Everrise, one of the largest upscale supermarkets in East Malaysia.

Southeast Asia's leading car-hailing service company Grab Holdings (GRAB.US) is acquiring a chain of supermarkets in Malaysia to further expand its grocery business in one of its major markets. The company is acquiring Everrise supermarket from Navis Capital Partners, which will give it ownership of 19 stores in the eastern state of Sarawak. However, Grab did not disclose the value of this transaction in its statement on Monday. Everrise is one of the largest and fastest-growing premium chain supermarkets in East Malaysia. Established in 1993, it currently has 19 stores in Sabah and Sarawak, offering a variety of products and services. Grab plans to digitize Everrise's operations and provide on-demand grocery delivery services to its customers. This acquisition is another important move for the company following its acquisition of the Malaysian supermarket chain Jaya Grocer three years ago. Amid intense competition with rivals like Indonesia's GoTo Group, Southeast Asia's largest car-hailing and food delivery company Grab is actively expanding into new areas such as online banking and groceries. Grab and GoTo Group Accelerating Merger Talks According to reports, Grab and GoTo Group are accelerating their merger talks and plan to reach a final merger agreement this year to end years of continued losses in the fiercely competitive Southeast Asian internet market. Insiders revealed that in recent weeks, the merger talks between the two parties have reached a climax, with both companies seeing 2025 as a favorable time to reach a merger deal. These two long-standing loss-making companies - also the two largest online ride-hailing service providers in the region with over 650 million consumers - have been in discussions sporadically for years, aiming to reduce operating costs through a merger and reduce competition pressure in the region. Grab, based in Singapore, backed by the US ride-hailing and delivery services leader Uber Technologies, Inc., and Indonesia's GoTo (whose investors include SoftBank Group), have made positive progress towards profitability since their recent listings. However, competitive pressures to capture users have controlled prices and squeezed operating profits, leading to years of losses for the two giants. Barriers to a merger in the past few years have included disagreements between the two sides and a series of antitrust issues that could arise from their dominant positions in markets in Indonesia and Singapore, among others. A spokesperson for GoTo declined to comment, while a representative of Grab did not immediately offer a response when contacted by the media. DealStreetAsia previously reported the target of the two ride-hailing companies reaching an agreement this year. Overall, the merger talks between Grab and GoTo have significantly accelerated, with the aim of reaching an agreement by 2025 to address the intense competition and sustained losses in the Southeast Asian ride-hailing market. Despite regulatory challenges and market changes, both ride-hailing giants hope to enhance their competitiveness and improve their financial fundamentals through integration. Analysts are collectively optimistic that Grab has the potential to grow into the Uber Technologies, Inc. of Southeast Asia. Currently, Grab has taken a dominant position in Southeast Asia's ride-hailing service and online food delivery sales market, defeating its main competitor, Indonesia's GoTo Group, and possibly fulfilling its years of promises. Bloomberg industry research analyst Nathan Naidu stated that while Grab has recently had a turnaround, its challenge is still how to continue attracting users in the region and achieve the penetration rates that Uber Technologies, Inc. has achieved in the US. Grab still has a long way to go. Hussaini Saifee, an analyst at Maybank Investment Bank, stated that the sustained strong growth of the company's core services, coupled with the continuous growth of its digital banking business, will create strong momentum in the fourth quarter. Analysts believe that Grab has a scale advantage that smaller companies do not have, helping it incentivize customers with lower expenses and create income opportunities for drivers. Analysts from Evercore, including Mark Mahaney, wrote in a report, "We believe that long-term growth, leading market share, and scale will bring significant profitability to Grab over time, much like they have done for Uber Technologies, Inc. globally." Due to the harsh macroeconomic environment and consumers in the region restraining spending to cope with inflation and rising interest rates, Grab's revenue growth has significantly slowed from double digits in previous years. It is certain that others have stated that the stock's rise has already reflected improvements in the fundamentals. Morningstar analyst Kai Wang stated that the profit margins for food delivery and ride-hailing must increase by several hundred basis points to support further stock price increases. Alicia Yap, an analyst at Citigroup, stated that as long as Grab continues to deliver strong performance, its stock price could continue to rise, and the structural opportunities in Southeast Asia, including the possibility of further tariffs being imposed by the US after President Trump's re-election, are not sensitive to the company. She stated that the stock "will definitely attract a lot of new investor interest."