Friday, March 29

Tag: careem

Uber buys rival Careem in $3.1 billion deal to dominate ride-hailing in Middle East
ACQUISITION, MIDDLE EAST

Uber buys rival Careem in $3.1 billion deal to dominate ride-hailing in Middle East

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Global ride-hailing firm Uber will spend $3.1 billion to acquire Middle East rival Careem, buying dominance in a competitive region ahead of a hotly anticipated initial public offering. Uber said it would pay $1.4 billion in cash and $1.7 billion in convertible notes in a deal that gives it full ownership of Careem. The long-expected agreement ends more than nine months of start-and-stop negotiations between the two companies and hands Uber a much-needed victory after a series of overseas divestments. The notes will be convertible into Uber shares at a price equal to $55 apiece, Uber said, marking about a nearly 13 percent increase over Uber’s share price in its last financing round, led by SoftBank Group Corp more than a year ago. The acquisition makes...
Careem Ties up with DCT Abu Dhabi to Create Curated Routes in UAE
MIDDLE EAST, News

Careem Ties up with DCT Abu Dhabi to Create Curated Routes in UAE

Middle East-based cab aggregator Careem has entered into a deal and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) for the purpose of creating curated routes across the emirate and encourage events in the city. Careem GCC managing director Bassel Al Nahlaoui and DCT Abu Dhabi undersecretary Saif Saeed Ghobash have signed the agreement. They both will also oversee Careem work with DCT Abu Dhabi to improve customer journeys from Abu Dhabi International Airport and enhance water taxi solutions. Also, they would be looking after the transfer of knowledge and map various data points to better understand commuter behvaiour and create solutions to commuter problems. “This agreement between our two organisations is in line with ...
Dubai-based Careem Buys Tech & Talent of Indian Bus-shuttle Platform
ACQUISITION, MIDDLE EAST

Dubai-based Careem Buys Tech & Talent of Indian Bus-shuttle Platform

Dubai-based ride-hailing company Careem has acquired a part of Indian bus-shuttle service platform called Commut. The amount of the deal is yet not disclosed and with this, the company is looking to expand to mass transport across 100 cities. Following the acquisition, Careem will take over Commut's talent and technology. Founded in 2015 by six IIIT-Hyderabad graduates, Commut claims to have served over 70,000 customers and onboarded 400 driver-partners. "We are always looking to invest in new technologies and high-calibre people to help solve complex local problems. And mass transportation is one of the biggest issues facing cities in the Greater Middle East," Careem stated. "Improving the quality and availability of mass transportation will help to create affordable transport option...
Dubai’s Ride-Hailing Firm Careem to Launch Services in Sudan
MIDDLE EAST

Dubai’s Ride-Hailing Firm Careem to Launch Services in Sudan

Careem, the leading ride-hailing company in the Middle East has announced that it has started a service in Sudan, one of few international companies to enter the country since US economic sanctions were lifted last year. Following this move, Careem has hired 10 Sudanese employees and signed up hundreds of drivers to its app to launch operations in Khartoum, which is the capital of Sudan. The company is planning to have 30 employees in Sudan and have its existence in at least one other city in the northeast African country by the end of the year. "My goal and aim is to cover as many (cities) as possible in the next one or two years," Careem's Managing Director for Emerging Markets Ibrahim Manna stated. It has been stated that Sudan has the potential to be one of biggest markets of C...
Top 5 Stories Of The Week (2nd July – 7th July)
Story

Top 5 Stories Of The Week (2nd July – 7th July)

This week was quite eventful in terms of business and startup activities. Many companies came up with a number of business strategies and plans. The most trending topic that buzzed the readers this week was about the Reliance Industries, that became India’s largest tax-paying private company. Apart from this, there were many other news as well that were trending around the social media and news portals. So, here we have the summary of the top 5 stories of the week that were trending and buzzed the readers:         1) Reliance Becomes India’s Largest Tax-Paying Private Company   Mukesh Ambani, the Chairman of Reliance Industries said that Reliance has become first Indian private sector company paying 9,844 crore tax and 26,312 crore of cus...
Uber In Talks To Merge With Careem In Middle East
MIDDLE EAST

Uber In Talks To Merge With Careem In Middle East

Uber Technologies is in preliminary talks with the Middle East cab service company Careem Networks for the purpose of combining their ride-hailing services in the Middle East. Both the cab companies have discussed various considerable deal structures but have still not come to an agreement. According to the reports, current leaders of Careem would be managing the newly combined business, as well as retaining one or both of the companies' local brands. Another proposal that has been reported is that the Uber will be acquiring the Middle-East ride-hailing mobile application. If not acquiring Careem wholly, Uber stated that it would need to own more than half of the combined company. To this, Careem has yet not declined or accepted any comments. "Our ambition is to build a lasting inst...
Egypt to Regulate Uber and Careem Ride Sharing Services
MIDDLE EAST

Egypt to Regulate Uber and Careem Ride Sharing Services

Egypt's parliament has passed a law on Monday regulating ride-sharing apps Uber and Careem, potentially ending a lawsuit that could shut them down in their world's biggest market, however, imposing new charges and knowledge to share necessities. Legalising well known and prominent ride-sharing services became urgent in March when an Egyptian court docket ordered their suspension after a group of taxi drivers had filed a suit, arguing that they were illegally using private cars as taxis. Challenges for Uber Don't Seem to End U.S based cab aggregator, Uber has faced several regulatory and legal setbacks around the world amidst opposition from traditional taxi services. It has voluntarily closed in Southeast Asia while was forced to shut down in Denmark and Hungary. Meanwhile, another...
Uber rival Didi Chuxing gets $4 bn from SoftBank, others for global expansion
FUNDING

Uber rival Didi Chuxing gets $4 bn from SoftBank, others for global expansion

Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing Technology Co has raised $4 billion in a new funding round, the firm said on Thursday, boosting its war chest as it looks to expand overseas and intensify a challenge to Uber Technologies Inc. The fundraising will help fuel the firm’s global expansion plans as well as help it develop its business into areas like artificial intelligence (AI), Didi said. The round values the firm at over $50 billion and pre-existing investor SoftBank Group Corp is a participant, a person familiar with the deal told Reuters. SoftBank did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “With a substantial cash reserve, Didi plans to scale up investments in AI talent and technologies,” Didi said in a statement. The funds would also help the firm “bring more ...
Chinese Ride Sharing Giant DiDi Chuxing Is Coming To North America
USA

Chinese Ride Sharing Giant DiDi Chuxing Is Coming To North America

Beijing, China's ride hailing giant Didi Chuxing is planning to expand its services to expand to Mexico by next year, marking the company's first international expansion move. This also signals a new phase of competition with global ride sharing company Uber, which quit its Chinese business by selling it to Didi in 2016 after lengthy and expensive battle. After Uber, Didi Chuxing is the most valued privately owned firm in the world. Its decision to begin recruiting drivers and offering rides in Mexico will surely be seen as shot across Uber's bow at a time when the company witnessed a series of self-inflicted scandals. Didi right now has no card outside China, but will be launching an app in the Mexico and recruit local drivers. It is unclear which cities Didi will target, althoug...
Saudi Prince Invested $62 Million Dollar in Middle East Based Taxi Aggregator Careem
FUNDING

Saudi Prince Invested $62 Million Dollar in Middle East Based Taxi Aggregator Careem

Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) chaired by HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, acquired a 7% stake in ride hailing service Careem through a Secondary Share purchase as well as participating in the latest Round E funding to a total transaction value of $62M. The transaction makes KHC one of the largest holders of Preferred Shares in Careem and will grant KHC a board seat on Careem's board of directors. KHC's CEO Eng. Talal Ibrahim Al Maiman said, "Our investment in Careem is a continuation of our strategy to invest in new technologies as we have done with our investments in Twitter, JD.com and Lyft. As the leading ride hailing company in the region, and positioned with excellent growth prospects, Careem sets an example for regional businesses by providing employment opport...
Taxi Aggregator Uber and Careem Suspend Services in UAE Capital
News

Taxi Aggregator Uber and Careem Suspend Services in UAE Capital

Ride-hailing companies Uber and Careem have suspended services in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, since Saturday and do not know when they can resume operations, they said on Sunday. The National, a UAE newspaper, quoted unnamed sources as saying that as many as 50 drivers for Uber and Careem had been arrested. An Abu Dhabi source familiar with the situation told Reuters some drivers had been detained over violations of regulations but did not specify how many drivers or describe the violations. “This is a temporary suspension and we will let you know of any further updates,” an Uber spokesman in Dubai said via email. He did not respond to questions about the arrests or the reason for the suspension of services. Christian Eid, vice-president of marketing and com...