Indonesia’s Gojek Buys Minority Stake In Blue Bird Taxi App

Indonesian delivery app Gojek has finalized its $30 million deal for a minority stake in the app-based taxicab startup Blue Bird, Bloomberg reported on Monday (Feb. 17).

Gojek bought a 4.3 percent stake in Blue Bird from its holding company, PT Pusaka Citra Djokosoetono, said sources. Pusaka Citra sold more than 108 million shares of Blue Bird at Rp 3,800 ($.28 USD) per piece, according to a stock exchange filing on Friday (Feb. 14). No buyer was identified.

In 2010, Gojek was launched as a motorcycle ride-hailing call center. The Gojek app has since evolved from offering just ride-hailing to a suite of more than 20 services.

Gojek and Blue Bird already have a collaboration to compete against joint rival Grab. For example, the Gojek app can be used to reserve taxis for Blue Bird. Gojek — hailed as the most valuable startup in Indonesia at $10 billion — started moving into food delivery and digital payments.

“The stake acquisition should bring further synergies,” said Jessica Pratiwi, analyst at RHB Sekuritas Indonesia, in December. Bookings via Gojek currently “account for about 20 percent of Blue Bird’s regular taxi orders.”

Blue Bird shares traded at 2,340 rupiah on Monday, down 2.9 percent from Friday.

Gojek said in October that it was preparing for a dual listing, and looking for a larger share of the regional market. At the time, it was noted that the company’s two new chief executives, Andre Soelistyo and Kevin Aluwi, wanted to continue expanding Gojek. Though there was “no set date” for a listing, Soelistyo said the company was trying to work on “building better governance” with its IPO.

About 80 percent of Gojek’s client base operates in Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, and it contains about 29.2 million active users. The company said it has 7.1 million active monthly users in the rest of the region.