Anthony Tan, Grab co-founder and chief executive officer, is looking to secure his title for life as the Singapore delivery and rideshare platform continues to move forward in its merger with rival Gojek, based in Indonesia.
Some backers are concerned that the move would give Tan too much influence over the combined company, which in turn could spark government intervention that could potentially stifle an initial public offering (IPO), Nikkei Asia reported on Monday (Dec. 28), citing sources. A cross-section of backers are eying a public offering as soon as the merger deal is finalized.
Additional merger demands by Grab would also grant Tan considerable voting rights, veto power, and input into his salary, two sources told Nikkei Asia. Another source told the news outlet the two companies are also discussing how future appointments would be made and what would happen in the event of Tan’s death.
SoftBank-backed Grab told investors that operations in the combined company would follow IPO regulations and noted that it’s not unusual for newly-listed companies to give supervoting shares to founders, two sources told Nikkei Asia. It is believed that supervoting shares also would be extended to Gojek co-CEO Andre Soelistyo.
It is anticipated that since Grab has a higher valuation and a bigger geographical presence, it would have the upper hand in the merged entity. However, a source told Nikkei that it’s the shareholder structure that is holding up negotiations. The source said Gojek wants 40 percent of the shares, which Grab reportedly said is too much since it sees itself as the more financially-secure of the two.
Gojek started moving towards profitability after annualized gross transactions hit $12 billion at the end of September, 10 percent higher than the same time period in 2019. If the Grab-Gojek deal closes, it will be the biggest merger of online firms in Southeast Asia.