Indonesia’s ride-hailing and payments platform Gojek is in talks with eCommerce innovator Tokopedia for an $18 billion merger, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday (Jan. 5), citing sources.
Gojek and SoftBank-backed Tokopedia are in advanced discussions ahead of a projected public offering of the combined firm, the sources told Bloomberg.
A term sheet was signed by both companies “to conduct due diligence of each other’s business,” the sources said, adding that both firms are eager to seal the deal.
The tie-up between Gojek — valued at $10.5 billion valuation — and Tokopedia — valued at $7.5 billion — would create a combined company worth $18 billion, the sources said. The two have been discussing a merger since 2018 and stepped up negotiations after Gojek’s potential merger with Grab stalled.
“This is potentially a blockbuster deal,” Usman Akhtar, a partner at Bain & Co. in Singapore, told Bloomberg. “The deal would have a lot of impact outside of these two companies and have ripple effects that aren’t even all known right now.”
