SoftBank and Grab near to closing deal
Ride-hailing firm seeks to transform itself into a leading technology services group
Singapore — SoftBank is nearing a deal to invest about $500m in Grab as part of roughly $1bn that Southeast Asia's biggest ride-hailing firm is seeking in its latest funding, according to sources. Six-year-old Grab has garnered more than $6bn in total funding, led by SoftBank, Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing and Toyota Motor. After its last funding a few months ago, Grab was valued at around $11bn. SoftBank first bought a stake worth $250m in Grab in 2014 just as the two-year-old startup began competing with Uber Technologies in Southeast Asia. Toyota and financial firms led the funding earlier in 2019. Singapore-headquartered Grab acquired Uber's Southeast Asian business in exchange for a stake in itself and has since expanded its operations rapidly. The firm is looking to transform itself into a leading consumer technology group, offering, besides ride-hailing, services such as food delivery, electronic money transfers and mobile payments in one of the world's fastest growi...
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