Uber Sells Southeast Asia Business to Grab After Costly Battle

Uber Sells Southeast Asia Business to Grab After Costly Battle
This photo illustration taken on March 26, 2018 shows the Grab booking application seen on a smart phone in Singapore. Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images
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SINGAPORE/SAN FRANCISCO—Ride-hailing firm Uber has agreed to sell its Southeast Asian business to bigger regional rival Grab, the firms said on Monday, marking the U.S. company’s second retreat from an Asian market.

The industry’s first big consolidation in Southeast Asia, home to about 640 million people, puts pressure on Indonesia’s Go-Jek, which is backed by Alphabet Inc’s Google and China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd.