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Uber acquires Dubai-based Careem for $3.1 billion

Careem will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Uber, preserving its brand.

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Uber and Careem on Tuesday reached an agreement for Uber to acquire Careem for $3.1 billion, consisting of $1.7 billion in convertible notes and $1.4 billion in cash. 
The acquisition of Careem is subject to applicable regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2020.
Uber will acquire all of Careem's mobility, delivery, and payments businesses across the greater Middle East region, ranging from Morocco to Pakistan, with major markets including Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Upon closing, Careem will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Uber, preserving its brand. Careem co-founder and CEO Mudassir Sheikha will lead the Careem business, which will report to its own board made up of three representatives from Uber and two representatives from Careem. Careem and Uber will operate their respective regional services and independent brands.

Today, we start Chapter 2 of our story. Careem is joining forces with Uber to better serve the region

We will operate independently, so the app, services and brand you love will continue to be available as usual.

For more details, visit https://t.co/1eGk5u6d1w pic.twitter.com/xn53Q9iyLI
- Careem (@careem) March 26, 2019

"This is an important moment for Uber as we continue to expand the strength of our platform around the world. With a proven ability to develop innovative local solutions, Careem has played a key role in shaping the future of urban mobility across the Middle East, becoming one of the most successful startups in the region. Working closely with Careem's founders, I'm confident we will deliver exceptional outcomes for riders, drivers, and cities, in this fast-moving part of the world," said Uber CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi.
"Joining forces with Uber will help us accelerate Careem's purpose of simplifying and improving the lives of people, and building an awesome organisation that inspires. The mobility and broader internet opportunity in the region is massive and untapped, and has the potential to leapfrog our region into the digital future. We could not have found a better partner than Uber under Dara's leadership to realise this opportunity. This is a milestone moment for us and the region, and will serve as a catalyst for the region's technology ecosystem by increasing the availability of resources for budding entrepreneurs from local and global investors," said Careem CEO and co-founder, Mudassir Sheikha.

Congratulations to every @Careem Captain, Customer and Colleague on this special moment. We've been blessed to impact the lives of millions in the region and it's only the start as we join forces with @Uber.
- Mudassir Sheikha (@MudassirSheikha) March 26, 2019

"Careem and Uber are joining forces. We have reached an agreement in which Uber will acquire Careem for $3.1 billion. Careem will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Uber, operating independently with its own brand and services. Careem will retain the name, app, branding and everything you love about us - we're here for you," Careem said in a statement on their website.

"Across our fast growing, young and vibrant region, we are seeing the transformative impact of technology on mobility and improved services. Joining forces with Uber accelerates our collective ability to improve the region's transportation infrastructure at scale and offer diverse mobility, delivery and payment options."

What Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote to employees
Five years ago, Uber launched in Dubai. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that's become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.

Today we are taking the next step in this journey-well, it's more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we'll announce that we've agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I've gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products-from digital payments to food delivery-to serve consumers.

I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.

This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don't expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams' day-to-day operations post-close.

Today's news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build. It's a great day for the Middle East, for the region's thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.

Uber on,

Dara