SoftBank-Backed Coup Rocks GoTo as $7 Billion Grab Takeover Heats Up

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SoftBank Group Corp. (SOBKY) is back in the spotlight this time not for its next tech moonshot, but for a boardroom power play that could reshape Southeast Asia's digital economy. Together with Provident Capital Partners and Peak XV, the Japanese giant is among a group of GoTo Group backers moving to replace CEO Patrick Walujo a shift that could reopen merger talks with Grab Holdings Ltd. NASDAQ:GRAB. The investors have called for an extraordinary general meeting after a 40% slide in GoTo's market value under Walujo's watch. People familiar with the matter said he's seen as resistant to a Grab takeover even as Indonesia's government confirmed discussions with both companies about a possible deal.Jakarta's sovereign wealth fund Danantara is expected to be part of the plan, exploring a minority stake in a merged Grab-GoTo entity. Citigroup analyst Ferry Wong wrote that state involvement puts the deal on the table and could ease national-interest and regulatory pushback. GoTo's stock jumped as much as 4.5% in Jakarta to a $5 billion market cap, recovering early losses, while Grab's New York-listed shares value the company near $24 billion. Still, GoTo's board insists the December 17 shareholder meeting is unrelated to any merger plan, adding that no decision or agreement has been made regarding a transaction.If the two platforms do combine, it would create an unmatched regional powerhouse controlling roughly 8090% of Southeast Asia's on-demand market a scale that usually draws antitrust scrutiny. Grab, backed by Uber Technologies, reportedly floated a valuation above $7 billion for GoTo earlier this year, though market conditions could now shift that figure. Both firms have narrowed losses and restructured around profitability, exiting non-core markets to reduce cash burn. Yet a merger would still raise questions about job security, pricing power, and national control. For investors, the potential upside could be meaningful a consolidation that might finally end years of price wars and bring stability to Southeast Asia's fiercely contested ride-hailing and delivery battleground.

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