Uber Group CEO leaves Grab board as Singapore company looks at spending over $1 billion in international acquisitions

SINGAPORE: Uber Technologies Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi has stepped down from Grab Holdings’ board of directors, ending a board role he has held since the ride-hailing giant exited Southeast Asia and sold its regional operations to the Singapore-based super-app operator in 2018.

According to a bourse filing, Khosrowshahi ceased serving as a director with effect from July 6.

He first joined Grab’s board in 2018 following Uber’s sale of its Southeast Asia business to Grab and later continued as a director after the company became publicly listed.

Following his departure, Grab’s board comprises six directors, four of whom are independent. The company said Uber’s economic interest in Grab remains unchanged despite the board transition.

Uber continues to be Grab’s largest individual shareholder, holding an equity stake of about 14% in the company.

The stake traces its origins to the landmark March 2018 transaction in which Uber exited the Southeast Asian market in exchange for a 27.5% shareholding in Grab. That interest has since been diluted to between 13.71% and 14.1% following subsequent fundraising rounds.

Khosrowshahi’s departure comes as Grab pursues an ambitious expansion strategy through acquisitions, with planned and completed deals together exceeding US$1 billion in value.

Among its biggest planned transactions is the proposed acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s foodpanda delivery business in Taiwan for US$600 million (S$767.08 million) in cash. Announced in March, the transaction is structured on a cash-free, debt-free basis.

If completed, the acquisition would extend Grab’s presence beyond Southeast Asia for the first time, making Taiwan its ninth market. The company expects to operate across 21 cities in Taiwan following the completion of the deal.

Grab has also completed the acquisition of a 100% equity interest in Stash Financial Inc., a US-based digital financial services company.

The company announced in February that it had entered into definitive agreements to acquire Stash at an enterprise value of US$425 million.

According to a separate bourse filing, payment for a 50.1% equity interest in Stash was made when the transaction closed on July 1. Grab will acquire the remaining interest over the next three years at fair market value.

Grab previously said the acquisition would strengthen its business by adding subscription revenue while bringing in talent and technology from Stash’s artificial intelligence-powered investing platform.

The latest acquisitions follow Grab’s consolidation of PT Super Bank Indonesia Tbk, or Superbank, into its financial statements after Singtel Alpha Investments Pte. Ltd. transferred its stake in the bank to GXS Bank.