On Monday, two of Indonesia's most prominent startups Gojek and Tokopedia have merged to form GoTo groups - the largest technology group in the Southeast Asian nation.
Talks between both about a potential merger started last year, and last month, they moved to seek approval from their respective investors. During their talks, the proposed valuation of GoTo was $18 billion. However, the valuation and financial terms of the deal were not disclosed after the deal was finalized on Monday.
According to both firms, investors agreed to the proposal. Existing investors include Alibaba Group, Astra International, BlackRock, Capital Group, DST, Facebook and PayPal, Google, JD.com, KKR, Northstar, Pacific Century Group, Provident, Sequoia Capital India, SoftBank Vision Fund 1, Telkomsel, Temasek, Tencent, Visa and Warburg Pincus.
Gojek's Andre Soelistyo will be the CEO of GoTo Group, while Tokopedia's Patrick Cao serves as GoTo Group President. Kevin Aluwi will continue as CEO of Gojek, and William Tanuwijaya will remain CEO of Tokopedia, the two firms said in a joint announcement.
Speaking on the merger, Andre Soelistyo, CEO of GoTo Group, said, "Today is a truly historic day as we mark the beginning of GoTo and the next phase of growth for Gojek, Tokopedia and GoTo Financial."
"Gojek drivers will deliver even more Tokopedia packages, merchant partners of all sizes will benefit from strengthened business solutions, and we will use our combined scale to increase financial inclusion in an emerging region with untapped growth potential," he added.
"The establishment of GoTo Group, according to Tokopedia's Co-founder and CEO William Tanuwijaya, proves that you can believe in an 'Indonesian dream' and make it a reality. Our goal has always been to build a company that creates social impact at scale, levelling the playing field for small businesses and giving consumers equal access to goods and services across the country."
"In addition to accelerating the growth of Indonesia's digital economy, GoTo Group will make it easier for people from all walks of life to access quality products and services, anytime and anywhere. We still have a long way to go to achieve our goals, but today is about starting that journey together," William said.
The next move for GoTo, according to the executives of the group, is an IPO. GoTo will be preparing for a dual listing — in New York and Jakarta — later this year.
Indonesia in focus
GDP: $1.119 trillion compared to Malaysia's $364.681 Billion in 2019
Population: 270,625,568 compared to Malaysia's 31,949,777 in 2019
GDP per capita: $4,135 compared to Malaysia's $11,414 in 2019
