Uber said to be in talks with Careem to merge in Middle East

Uber Technologies and Dubai-based Careem are in preliminary talks to combine their Middle Eastern ride-hailing services, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing three people familiar with the matter.

The companies have discussed several potential deal structures, but no final decision has been reached yet, the people said.

Careem did not confirm or deny the report when contacted by Argaam.

“Our ambition is to build a lasting institution for the region and that means focussing on growth into new markets and doubling down on our existing cities to open our platform up to new products and services. We are only getting started,” Maha Abouelenein, Careem spokesperson, said in a statement.

Uber declined to comment.

According to Bloomberg report, Uber has said that it would need to own more than half of the combined company, if not buy Careem outright.

Under one of the proposed arrangements, Careem’s current leaders would manage the new combined business while retaining one or both of the companies’ local brands, the people said.

Another proposal would have Uber acquire Careem.

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, is an investor in Uber, while Saudi Telecom Co.’s venture capital arm STV is an investor in Careem.