ComfortDelGro to acquire 51pc stake in Uber's Singapore business

Singapore's largest taxi company ComfortDelGro has announced that they have entered into a strategic agreement to acquire a 51 percent majority stake in Uber's local rental business units, Lion City Rentals. Uber will retain the remaining 49 percent. The deal would see a joint venture valued at SG$642 million(US$474 million) established to run Uber’s Lion City Rentals subsidiary in Singapore. . Comfort will spend SG$295 million to buy 51 percent in what is the largest investment outlay in its forty-plus-year history.

Under the agreement, ComfortDelGro taxi drivers will be able to receive ride requests on the Uber driver app, while allowing users of Uber’s app to directly book ComfortDelGro taxis. The move follows a year in which Grab, which competes head-to-head with Uber across seven countries in Southeast Asia, expanded its market share in private-vehicle rides to 72 percent.

ComfortDelGro Chairman Lim Jit Poh said, "ComfortDelGro has been in the taxi business for close to five decades and we have seen the industry evolve significantly. Despite the many changes that have taken place, taxis have remained a relevant option for people get around the city." He further explained, "We are confident that taxis will be around for a long time to come. But we are also aware that the personalized mobility business is a very different one now. PHVs, with the advent of innovative apps like Uber, have changed the way in which consumers use public transportation and have created a more efficient use of existing resources. By working together, we feel that we will be able to unleash a lot of synergies which will benefit consumers and drivers alike."

ComfortDelGro CEO Yang Ban Seng added that the partnership would enable the company to tap into Uber's technology as well as offer consumers more choice and a shorter wait for their ride.