Gojek buys US$30m stake in Indonesia taxi operator Blue Bird: sources

[JAKARTA] Indonesia's on-demand services app Gojek purchased a minority stake in top local taxi operator PT Blue Bird for US$30 million, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Gojek bought a 4.3 per cent stake in Blue Bird from its holding company, PT Pusaka Citra Djokosoetono, said the people, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. Pusaka Citra sold more than 108 million shares of Blue Bird at 3,800 rupiah apiece, the company said in a stock exchange filing on Feb 14 without identifying the buyer.

The deal confirms Bloomberg's earlier report that Gojek was close to an agreement to buy a stake in Blue Bird. A representative at Gojek and Blue Bird's president Director Noni Purnomo declined to comment.

The deal builds on an existing partnership - closely held Gojek already offers taxi reservations for Blue Bird's taxis on its app - as the companies face mounting competition from Singapore-based Grab Holdings Inc. Gojek, which is Indonesia's most valuable startup, is also expanding into areas such as food delivery and digital payments.

Blue Bird shares traded at 2,340 rupiah on Monday, down 2.9 per cent from Friday.

BLOOMBERG

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