Uber Makes Largest Tech Deal in Middle East History.
Uber raises eye brows with its largest tech deal in Middle East history.
The worlds largest Tech Transport Company, Uber has pumped over $3.1 billion in its products and services in the Middle East — It is projected that this largest tech deal by Uber in the Middle East would help it dominate among its competitors.
Uber revealed on Tuesday that it is in final touches of agreement to buy Dubai-based Careem, which operates in 15 countries including Morocco, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Uber made a deal of $1.4 billion in cash, $1.7 billion in loans — and marks the biggest tech industry deal in the region outside of Israel, according to the Associated Press.
Two co-founders under Uber as its own brand will manage and operate the company — for now. On Careem’s website, the company wrote, “We are still Careem.”
In late 2013, Uber arrived in Careem’s territory just a year after Careem was started operation– now the two leading ride-hailing options are playing nice.
Local transit competition will be killed by the acquisition say by Liad Itzhak, an SVP at Here Mobility in an email, effectively turning the ride-hailing market in the region into an Uber-owned monopoly. Uber pulled out of Southeast Asia last year and sold its business there to local ride-hailing platform Grab.
On Tuesday Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote in an email to employees about keeping Careem as an independent brand operating on its own — he wrote; “We decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each.” He mentioned “integrating” eventually to improve service and bring on new products that Careem offers.
Uber is valuated of $120 billion when it goes public next month with a potential record in the history of the Middle East — it would be one of the largest tech deals in the region.
Meanwhile smaller Uber rival Lyft filed to go public earlier this month and is expected to list its IPO on Friday. Lyft has focused on the U.S. market, with its only global expansion in Canada.
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