Malaysia’s AirAsia to purchase Gojek’s Thai enterprise for $50 mln in shares
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Reuters
Liz Lee and Chayut Setboonsarng and Anshuman Daga
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KUALA LUMPUR / BANGKOK – Malaysian low-cost airline AirAsia Group said it will buy the Thailand business of Indonesian ride-hailing and payment company Gojek in a share swap, giving Gojek a 4.76% stake in the airline’s lifestyle platform receives.
AirAsia will acquire Gojek’s business in exchange for shares in AirAsia SuperApp valued at $ 50 million, which valued the division at around $ 1 billion, more than the pandemic-stricken airline’s current market value of $ 868 million -Dollars at a time when she wanted to raise more capital.
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The deal with the Indonesian startup unicorn comes just a week after AirAsia applied for a digital banking license in Malaysia, signaling a shift in focus to digital business as the majority of its fleet remains on the ground amid coronavirus restrictions.
“By taking over Gojek’s established Thai business, we can accelerate our ambitions in this area,” said Tony Fernandes, chief executive of AirAsia, in a statement.
AirAsia SuperApp provides travel, e-commerce and financial services and is one of three companies in the AirAsia Digital group. The others are the logistics company Teleport and the BigPay fintech business.
AirAsia could give Gojek a boost in Thailand, where the startup has lagged behind its competitors in food delivery and driving services, said Nattabhorn Juengsanguansit, director of Thai management consultancy Asia Group Advisors.
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“But the company is facing stiff food delivery competition from companies like Line Man, which received a significant boost in capital last year. (Singapore) Grab has a strong position in ride hailing and Bolt from Estonia is growing its market share, ”she said.
Gojek’s Thai business, which includes driver services, food delivery and payments, is the smallest overseas business and has a far smaller market share than leading grocery supplier Grab.
Gojek will focus on increasing investments in Vietnam and Singapore after the deal is closed, the statement said.
“We’ve looked at where we can really use the resources to ensure our teams have a path to market leadership, and we’re seeing this in Vietnam and Singapore, and that’s why our commitment there is so strong, if not stronger than ever,” Gojek CEO Kevin Aluwi told reporters.
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Gojek’s plans for an IPO are moving forward, although the focus on the two markets is not directly related to the IPO pursuit, he added.
Gojek’s Thai business made a loss in 2019 and 2020, according to reports submitted with the announcement of the deal.
Nikkei Asia previously reported that AirAsia was in talks with Gojek to take over its Thai business.
Fernandes told reporters that BigPay is close to closing a deal while the group could make announcements about its fundraising initiatives next week. He did not share details.
“AirAsia will, I hope, make some announcements about funding next week and … the Danajamin loan is currently being processed,” he said, referring to a government guaranteed loan the airline has been looking for for months.
Fernandes told a local weekly in March that the airline could secure 1 billion ringgit ($ 240.62 million) in bank loans, and in April the group expects to see clarity on its fundraising in two to three months.
AirAsia has been trying to raise up to 2.5 billion ringgit since last year to survive the pandemic-induced slump in global travel.
($ 1 = 4.1560 Ringgit) (reporting by Liz Lee in Kuala Lumpur, Anshuman Daga in Singapore and Chayut Setboonsarng in Bangkok; additional reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; writing by Jamie Freed; editing by Kim Coghill and Stephen Coates)
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