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The acquisition is reported to have cost Grab more than US$100 million

Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant Grab is set to acquire Indonesian ‘assistive’ e-commerce startup Kudo, according to a report by Straits Times.

The report stated that Grab is set to announce the acquisition “as early as this week” and the deal is reported to be valued over US$100 million. Through the acquisition, Grab expects to “expand its online payments space.”

e27 has reached out to spokespersons of the companies; Kudo spokesperson has responded by declining to comment on “rumour or such speculation.”

Also Read: Was kaskus co-founder correct about the state of Indonesia’s digital industry?

Rumours about the acquisition has circled around in the Indonesian startup communities since Grab announced their new US$700 million Grab4Indonesia “master plan” for the market. The master plan consists of three pillars, which one of them includes a deeper dig into financial inclusion and online payments.

Kudo’s business line –which enables consumers with no bank accounts or smartphones to shop on e-commerce platforms through agents– seems to be a perfect fit to the third pillar.

Kudo itself has appointed Silicon Valley veteran Sukan Makmuri as its CTO last year and has raised an “eight digit” US dollar investment round led by EMTEK Group.

More on this story as it develops.

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