Grab’s acquisition of Trans-cab falls through

Photo credit: The Business Times

Grab’s proposed acquisition of Trans-cab has fallen through as both parties have withdrawn their application to the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS).

In a press release on July 25, the competition watchdog said that both parties have informed CCCS that they would not be proceeding with the acquisition.

CCCS has ended its assessment of the proposed acquisition after being informed of the decision.

This comes after the watchdog issued a provisional decision regarding the proposed acquisition on Jul 11, where it found that competition would be significantly reduced should the transaction go through.

The competition commission gave Grab and Trans-cab 10 working days to respond with solutions to the competition concerns raised.

In response to media queries about why Grab decided not to proceed with the acquisition, the company said it did not have anything further to add beyond its original statement issued on July 11.

“CCCS encourages businesses with acquisition plans to engage CCCS at an early stage of the process if they assess that their plans are likely to raise competition concerns,” said the commission.

Last July, Grab announced plans to acquire 100% of Trans-Cab, Singapore’s third-largest taxi operator, gaining control of over 2,200 taxis and more than 300 private-hire vehicles.

See also: Is Grab’s ride-hailing business future-proof?