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Gojek, Tokopedia to merge in Indonesia’s biggest ever deal at US$18 billion

  • Gojek’s Andre Soelistyo will lead combined business as CEO, with Tokopedia’s Patrick Cao serving as group president
  • Gojek shahreholders to hold 58 per cent of combined entity called GoTo; Alibaba and SoftBank to be major shareholders of GoTo

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A Gojek driver checks his mobile phone in Jakarta in January. Southeast Asia technology companies Gojek and Tokopedia plan to combine in the biggest merger ever in Indonesia. Photo: Bloomberg
Chad BrayandAlison Tudor-Ackroyd

Tokopedia and Gojek, two of Indonesia’s biggest technology companies, said on Monday that they planned to merge to create a digital leviathan spanning e-commerce, ride-hailing and financial services based in the world‘s fourth most populous country.

Gojek shareholders will hold 58 per cent of the combined group to be known as GoTo. Backed by China’s Alibaba Group Holding and Japan’s Softbank, GoTo will aim to go public later this year, a person familiar with its plans said.
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Gojek’s Andre Soelistyo will lead the combined business as GoTo’s CEO, with Tokopedia’s Patrick Cao named GoTo’s president.

The highly-anticipated merger is the biggest ever deal in Indonesia and the largest between two Southeast Asia-based e-commerce companies. Based on historical fundraising rounds for Gojek, priced in 2019 and Tokopedia, priced early last year, the combined valuation of both companies was US$18 billion.

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Kevin Aluwi will continue as CEO of Gojek and William Tanuwijaya will remain CEO of Tokopedia. In addition to his group responsibility, Soelistyo will continue to lead payments and financial services, under the new brand of GoTo Financial, which encompasses GoPay as well as the group’s merchant and financial services offerings.

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Gojek and Tokopedia have been in merger talks for months after plans for Gojek’s combination with Singapore-headquartered ride-hailing app Grab collapsed, people familiar with both sets of negotiations have said.

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