Indonesia weighs Grab and GoTo deal that could combine more than 91 percent of ride hailing market

Millions of drivers are at the center of merger discussions

Indonesia is considering a possible merger or acquisition involving Grab and GoTo that could bring more than 91 percent of the country's ride hailing market under one company. As of November 8, 2025, officials say the government is discussing its options and could reach a decision soon, with jobs, affordable services and control of a major part of the digital economy at stake.

Gojek, GoTo's ride hailing business, counts more than 3.1 million online riders. Across Indonesia, motorbike and car drivers transport millions of people and meals each day, while delivery couriers connect restaurants and small businesses with customers. Officials regard the industry as strategic for employment and growth, making the discussions much more than a transaction between technology companies.

Euromonitor International estimates that Grab and GoTo together account for over 91 percent of Indonesia's ride hailing market. Combining them would put more than nine out of every 10 rides within a single corporate group, an unusually high level of concentration for a large economy.

Grab has been discussed as a possible buyer of GoTo in a transaction that could value the Indonesian group at around $7 billion. Financing options discussed include roughly $2 billion in new debt. Neither company has publicly set out detailed terms, and no firm date for a decision or completion has been given.

Indonesia's leadership has met with both companies while weighing potential savings against the risks of weaker competition. A larger network could expand services and make earnings more stable. Drivers, unions and consumers face a different concern: fewer competing platforms could mean lower incentives, fewer discounts and less choice.

Two platforms woven into daily life

Grab is based in Singapore and listed in the United States. It expanded from a ride hailing app into a regional business covering transport, food delivery, digital payments and financial services. Indonesia is its largest market by population, and Grab has invested in driver incentives, services for merchants and mapping technology across major cities and smaller towns.

GoTo is Indonesia's largest homegrown consumer technology group. It was formed in 2021 through the combination of Gojek, a pioneer of motorbike ride hailing and courier services, and Tokopedia, one of the country's leading online commerce platforms. The group remains a symbol of Indonesia's ambitions in the digital economy.

Grab and GoTo have competed city by city for passengers, food orders and payment activity. Their networks include millions of small restaurants, convenience stores and micro businesses, alongside driver communities and other partners. A decision about their ownership could therefore affect how businesses reach customers as well as how people travel.

Foreign investment already plays a large role in GoTo. According to the company's 2024 annual report, foreign investors hold 73.9 percent of its shares, with the remainder held by Indonesian shareholders. Foreign investors include SoftBank Group and Taobao China Holding, a unit of Alibaba Group. GoTo's identity as a domestic technology champion and its ownership structure both feature in the debate about a possible deal.

Why the government is focused on riders

Indonesia's government has described the sector as vital to employment and digital inclusion, meaning access to services and economic opportunities through technology. Millions of households depend on the flexible income that transport and delivery platforms provide, particularly in cities where traffic is heavy and public transport coverage is limited.

Prasetyo Hadi, the presidential spokesperson, put drivers at the center of the government's thinking and signaled urgency in the discussions.

Online riders are economic heroes driving the economy.

Officials say any outcome must protect jobs and keep services affordable. Their focus suggests that job security, benefits and consumer protection could become conditions attached to a transaction. Ministers have made the role of drivers and couriers central to the debate, putting fair earnings alongside the interests of shareholders.

Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund, Danantara, has also been discussed as a possible minority investor in a combined company. Officials and market sources have floated the idea as a way to preserve a local stake and give the state a role in decisions. A minority holding would mean owning part of the business without necessarily controlling it.

Danantara's involvement could help address concerns about an Indonesian champion being absorbed by a regional rival. The proposal reflects a broader approach used in large strategic transactions in emerging markets, where governments seek to balance private investment with national interests. Its participation remains an idea under discussion, rather than an announced arrangement.

What a $7 billion transaction could involve

Grab buying control of GoTo is one possible route, potentially with some businesses outside the main transport and delivery operations excluded. Another route would be a merger of overlapping Indonesian business lines under an agreed management and ownership structure.

Market discussions earlier in 2025 pointed to a possible valuation of about $7 billion for GoTo and included a potential transaction timeline. Roughly $2 billion in new borrowing was discussed as part of the financing. These are possible terms being considered, while both companies have kept their public comments limited.

A purchase and a merger can lead to different arrangements. An acquisition gives the buyer control of the business it purchases. A merger combines businesses within a shared structure, with the parties needing to agree who makes decisions and how ownership is divided. Either approach would require choices about the businesses included and the role of existing investors.

Management would also have to decide whether to retain two apps or move users into one, how to align driver and courier incentives, and what to do with brands across transport, food delivery, payments and marketplace services. Those decisions would influence daily routines for workers, merchants and customers.

Companies seeking a deal would likely need to reassure policymakers about employment, driver benefits, privacy and Indonesian participation in governance. Possible commitments include maintaining and growing jobs, improving safety nets for drivers and couriers, and keeping data within Indonesia under appropriate privacy protections.

How Indonesia's competition review works

The Business Competition Supervisory Commission, known as KPPU, is Indonesia's antitrust authority. Its role is to examine whether business conduct or transactions harm competition. A combination covering over 91 percent of ride hailing would invite close scrutiny because passengers and drivers would have fewer large competing platforms to choose from.

Indonesia generally requires companies completing mergers and acquisitions that meet relevant thresholds to notify KPPU after the transaction closes. Companies can also use a preliminary assessment process to seek informal guidance before completion. This gives them a way to discuss concerns early, while the authority retains its powers to examine a completed deal.

KPPU can investigate and impose remedies or sanctions if it finds effects that harm competition. Remedies are changes intended to address the problem, such as selling assets, changing business practices or providing fair access for partners and users. Sanctions can include fines.

Grab and GoTo could propose measures intended to preserve competition. Possibilities include maintaining separate driver and consumer pricing policies for a period, limiting exclusive arrangements with restaurants and merchants, and creating barriers that prevent sensitive data from being shared between business units.

Clear procedures for resolving disputes involving drivers, couriers and sellers could also form part of a proposal. KPPU would assess whether the measures protect users and keep the market fair. If the authority finds the risks too high, it can act after a transaction has closed, making the review important even once ownership changes.

Drivers fear losing their choice of apps

The Indonesian Transport Workers Union, which represents many drivers and couriers working through apps, has warned that a combination could reduce incentives and weaken workers' bargaining power. Union leaders point to a merged business controlling around 91 percent of Indonesian rides and a large share of food delivery across Southeast Asia.

Many drivers currently use both platforms, choosing between them according to incentives and waiting times in a particular area. That choice gives workers a practical way to seek better returns: when one app offers less attractive terms, the other may provide an alternative.

A combined company could reduce bonuses, leaving drivers with lower take home earnings and fewer options. Some drivers recall earlier consolidation and say promotional budgets fell and average earnings weakened after major deals. Their experience helps explain why labor groups are seeking protections in the current discussions.

A larger platform could also cut operating costs and use savings to support steadier income, insurance, training or other assistance. Supporters of consolidation see those possibilities as potential benefits of operating at greater scale. Whether workers receive them would depend on the company's policies and any conditions imposed by authorities.

Indonesia's government has placed drivers at the center of its public message, but the practical details would matter most to households relying on platform income. Possible requirements include minimum standards for earnings and insurance, stronger benefits and clearer ways to challenge decisions affecting a driver's work.

Restaurants and passengers face different pressures

Small restaurants depend on food delivery platforms for orders, making commissions and promotional programs central to their finances. A commission is the share or fee a platform takes from a sale. Higher charges or less marketing support can squeeze businesses that already keep only a small portion of each order as profit.

Dependable delivery and good visibility in an app can help restaurants expand sales. Restaurant associations are likely to seek fair contracts, transparent rules governing how businesses appear in search results and responsive customer service, especially where a single platform becomes the main route to online customers.

Passengers and people ordering meals could see changes in everyday costs. Competition between Grab and GoTo often takes the form of discounts and free delivery promotions. A dominant combined platform could face less pressure to maintain those offers.

A larger driver network could also shorten pickup times and match passengers with drivers more efficiently. Combining operations might support wider coverage in suburban and rural areas that currently receive fewer services. Prices, waiting times and service quality would therefore be important measures of how a transaction affects customers.

Authorities could consider rules governing prices and surge charges, which are higher charges applied during periods of heavy demand. Other possible protections include contracts allowing restaurants to work with competing services and clearer explanations of how apps rank restaurants, drivers and search results.

National ownership and regional competition

GoTo carries political weight because it was created from two Indonesian technology flagships. A combination with Singapore based Grab could intensify concerns about domestic control, even with foreign investors already holding most GoTo shares. Lawmakers and public figures have voiced worries in recent years about economic sovereignty in digital markets.

Transport, delivery and payments platforms influence jobs, prices and the movement of data. For policymakers, preserving Indonesian participation could involve investment and governance arrangements as well as commitments on local employment. Danantara's possible minority stake is one proposal aimed at maintaining that connection.

Indonesia is Southeast Asia's largest market by population and spending. Decisions in Jakarta can affect competition and investment across the region, where Grab and GoTo operate alongside Sea Group's Shopee, Alibaba's Lazada, TikTok Shop, banks and payments startups.

A combined Grab and GoTo could create a regional giant with unmatched reach in transport and food delivery. It could also influence capital flows and partnerships in online commerce and payments, extending the transaction's effects beyond the two companies' overlapping ride businesses.

Governments across Asia are taking a stricter approach to powerful digital platforms. Recent cases in other jurisdictions have indicated greater scrutiny of deals that concentrate markets. Indonesia's review would focus on the effects on drivers, small businesses and consumers in cities from Medan to Makassar, alongside the interests of shareholders and lenders.

The sequence and the next decisions

The discussions follow several stages in the development of GoTo and the market. The main dates and periods are:

• 2021: Gojek and Tokopedia combined to form GoTo.
• 2024: GoTo's annual report recorded foreign investors holding 73.9 percent of its shares.
• Earlier in 2025: Market discussions described a potential Grab purchase valuing GoTo at around $7 billion, with roughly $2 billion in new debt among the financing options.
• November 8, 2025: Indonesian officials said the government was weighing a possible merger or acquisition and indicated that a decision could come soon.

If the companies proceed, a formal proposal would go to their boards and major shareholders. A transaction spanning national borders and involving businesses of this size would likely involve ministries and agencies responsible for transport, communications, investment, labor and consumer protection.

Companies can consult KPPU before completion and generally must notify it afterward when the relevant thresholds are met. The timetable would depend partly on how quickly the parties agree on measures that satisfy regulators.

Authorities could seek commitments on cybersecurity, data privacy and coverage in places where service is less profitable. Maintaining access in those areas would address the risk of communities being left without useful digital services. Pricing safeguards, driver insurance, fair merchant contracts and transparent app rankings are also among the measures that could be considered.

Indonesia's decision brings several interests together: the possibility of lower operating costs and wider coverage, the need for viable earnings for drivers and couriers, affordable services for consumers, and enough competition to keep a dominant platform accountable. The terms of any proposed transaction and the protections attached to it would determine how those interests are balanced.

Key Points

• Indonesia is considering a merger or acquisition involving Grab and GoTo, with officials saying a decision could come soon.
• Euromonitor International estimates that the two businesses together hold over 91 percent of Indonesia's ride hailing market.
• Gojek counts more than 3.1 million online riders, making driver income and protection central to the debate.
• Possible terms discussed include a GoTo valuation of around $7 billion and roughly $2 billion in new debt.
• KPPU can review qualifying completed transactions and impose remedies or sanctions if it finds harm to competition.
• Labor groups warn of reduced incentives and bargaining power, while a larger network could offer savings and broader services.
• Danantara has been discussed as a possible minority investor to preserve an Indonesian stake.
• GoTo's 2024 annual report says foreign investors hold 73.9 percent of its shares.
• The companies have kept detailed public comments limited, and no firm decision or completion date has been announced.