SINGAPORE: Southeast Asia's biggest ride-hailing firm, Grab, is in advanced negotiations to buy parts of Uber Technologies Inc's business in the region, said a source with knowledge of the talks, in what would be Uber's second retreat from an Asian market.
Ride-hailing companies have been offering heavy discounts and promotions in Southeast Asia, a region of about 640 million people, to attract both riders and drivers.
To fund their expansion plans, both Grab and Uber have raised billions of dollars from global investors.
A multi-billion-dollar funding in Uber in January by SoftBank Group, already one of Grab's main investors, had opened up the possibility of a consolidation with Grab.
Grab's deal with Uber would be similar to the one struck in China in 2016, when Didi Chuxing bought out Uber's China business and gave a stake in return, said the source, who declined to be identified as the talks are private.
As part of the deal in Southeast Asia, Uber will get a stake in Grab, which has an estimated valuation of about $6 billion.
During a visit to India last month, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi pledged to continue investing aggressively in Southeast Asia even though the US ride-hailing firm expects to lose money in the fast-growing market.
Grab declined to comment on the Reuters story while Uber did not immediately respond to Reuters' queries.
Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Grab was close to finalising a deal to acquire Uber's business in certain markets in Southeast Asia and may sign a deal this week or next, citing people familiar with the matter.