Kingdom Holding CEO backs Uber-Careem merger: report

Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), one of the largest shareholders of Careem, supports a potential merger between the ride-hailing service and Uber Technologies Inc., Bloomberg has reported.

“We don’t interfere nor are we party to the discussions; and if it ever happens I think we are supportive of it, yes,” Bloomberg report said, quoting CEO of Kingdom Holding Talal Al Maiman during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Also Read: Uber said to be in talks with Careem to merge in Middle East

Uber Technologies and Dubai-based Careem have been in talks to combine their Middle Eastern ride-hailing services.

Careem operates in at least 10 countries from North Africa to Pakistan, and its biggest market is Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund (PIF), is an investor in Uber, while Saudi Telecom Co.’s venture capital arm STV is an investor in Careem.