Uber is not yet in Stock, but the app booking VTC is already as if. The american company has just announced the takeover of Careem, the operator of the VTC operating in the Middle East, for $ 3.1 billion (2.7 billion euros). The payment of the transaction will be in cash, for $ 1.4 billion, and for the balance in the form of bonds that can be converted into shares Uber. When the company will be publicly traded, of course. Which is expected next month, according to some indiscretions.
Careem, founded in 2012, is based in Dubai, in the united arab Emirates. The company claims one million drivers, more than 30 million users in 90 cities, from Morocco to Pakistan. Its local presence is more important than that of Uber, which offers its services in 23 cities in this region. The union between Uber and Careem will become the undisputed number one in the Middle East. It is expected, however, that Careem continues to operate independently, retaining its brand and a different app than Uber. The takeover, which must still receive the approval of the competition authorities, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2020.
surplus-value significant
For several years, Uber was rather oriented towards disinvestments, geographical, by transferring its activities to local competitors. The movement had begun in August 2016 with the sale of the business chinese at the local giant, Didi, against a participation of 17.5% in the capital of the chinese. Then, in July 2017, the industry of the Russian federation had been transferred to Yandex, against a turnout of 36.6% in the Russian company. Finally, in march 2018, the activity in the South-East asia had been acquired by the local Grab, against a participation of 27.5% in its capital.
Since his arrival in the general direction of Uber in August 2017, Dara Khosrowshahi has thus managed divestitures. Before you go and see the investors to explain the strategy, in the perspective of the ipo of Uber, he obviously had a desire to be able to tell a history of geographical development. Dara Khosrowshahi was also noted that the transaction represents “an important moment for Uber as we continue to expand the strength of our platform across the world”.
The operation could prove to be excellent for the shareholders of Careem, which include saudi businessman Al-Walid bin Talal, or the japanese Rakuten. In October last year, Careem was valued at $ 2 billion. The gain is already significant. It could be more, because the conversion price to acquire the future action Uber is very reasonable. It has been set at $ 55, which represents an increase of only 13% compared to the last fundraiser of Uber in December 2017. The valuation of Uber, was nearly $ 70 billion. This seems little, since the one expected, or hoped, for the ipo ranging between 100 and 120 billion dollars!
