Jakarta, Indonesia, May 17, 2021 - Gojek, Southeast Asia’s leading mobile on-demand services and payments platform, and Tokopedia, a technology company with the leading marketplace in Indonesia, today announced that they have combined their businesses to form GoTo Group, the largest technology group in Indonesia and the “go to” ecosystem for daily life. The agreement marks the largest ever business combination in Indonesia and the largest between two Asia-based internet media and services companies to date.
GoTo brings together the strengths of two Indonesian champions and creates a globally unique and highly complementary ecosystem that combines e-commerce, on-demand and financial services. GoTo Group is Indonesia’s largest digital consumer platform, capturing a majority of consumer household expenditure. The Group’s comprehensive merchant and partner network will offer an unparalleled selection of goods and services and its leading payments and financial services business will provide convenience and significantly increase financial inclusion. The GoTo Group has:
Indonesia has a GDP of more than USD 1 trillion, and is the fourth most populous country in the world with a population of 270 million. The GoTo Group will tap into the huge potential of Southeast Asia’s largest economy with its fast-growing middle class and young, tech-savvy population.
GoTo Group will also continue to focus on the fast-growing and emerging markets where Gojek already operates[3]. The creation of GoTo Group, with its broad and fast delivery services and its deep penetration, will mean same-day e-commerce delivery moves a step closer to becoming the norm in Indonesia. GoTo will also further develop its payments and financial services offerings to provide an enhanced financial experience to consumers, drivers and merchants while also expanding to reach more underserved segments in Indonesia, where 140 million people have little or no access to the country’s financial system.
Gojek and Tokopedia were both founded over a decade ago and have unlocked the benefits of the digital economy for millions of people across Indonesia and Southeast Asia - including consumers, service providers and merchants of all sizes. The two companies first worked together in 2015 to accelerate e-commerce deliveries using Gojek’s local network of drivers. The companies will continue to thrive and coexist as stand-alone brands within the strengthened ecosystem.
Gojek’s Andre Soelistyo will lead the combined business as GoTo Group CEO, with Tokopedia’s Patrick Cao serving as GoTo Group President. Kevin Aluwi will continue as CEO of Gojek and William Tanuwijaya will remain CEO of Tokopedia. In addition to his Group responsibility, Andre will continue to lead payments and financial services, under the new brand of GoTo Financial, which encompasses GoPay as well as the Group’s merchant and financial services offerings.
Andre Soelistyo, CEO of GoTo Group said, “Today is a truly historic day as we mark the beginning of GoTo and the next phase of growth for Gojek, Tokopedia and GoTo Financial. Gojek drivers will deliver even more Tokopedia packages, merchant partners of all sizes will benefit from strengthened business solutions and we will use our combined scale to increase financial inclusion in an emerging region with untapped growth potential. For the consumer, GoTo Group will continue to reduce frictions and provide best in class delivery of goods and services. This is the next step of an exciting journey and I am humbled and proud to lead the GoTo movement.”
Patrick Cao, President of GoTo Group said, “Our business model is now even more diverse, stable and sustainable. We have Gojek’s high volume, high frequency mobility transactions, combined with Tokopedia’s high value, medium frequency e-commerce transactions. GoTo Group will account for more than 2% of GDP in Indonesia and we’re going to create a lot more employment and income earning opportunities as our company and the economy expand. We are excited for the next chapter and look forward to our shared pursuit of innovation as a catalyst for inclusive growth.”
Tokopedia’s Co-founder and CEO William Tanuwijaya said, “The establishment of GoTo Group proves that you can believe in an ‘Indonesian dream’ and make it a reality. Our goal has always been to build a company that creates social impact at scale, levelling the playing field for small businesses and giving consumers equal access to goods and services across the country. In addition to accelerating the growth of Indonesia's digital economy, GoTo Group will make it easier for people from all walks of life to access quality products and services, anytime and anywhere. We still have a long way to go to achieve our goals, but today is about starting that journey together.”
Kevin Aluwi, CEO and Co-founder of Gojek said, “This is a coming together of two like-minded companies and there is such a great cultural fit between our management teams. Executing a deal of this size and scale so seamlessly was only possible because we believe in the same goals: a relentless focus on consumers to give them the best experience, supported by the densest and fastest mobility network in the region, alongside the most comprehensive pool of merchants. We are now in the unique position to meet all of a consumer’s daily needs.”
The GoTo Group has a roster of supportive blue-chip investors including Alibaba Group, Astra International, BlackRock, Capital Group, DST, Facebook, Google, JD.com, KKR, Northstar, Pacific Century Group, PayPal, Provident, Sequoia Capital India, SoftBank Vision Fund 1, Telkomsel, Temasek, Tencent, Visa and Warburg Pincus.
Michael Yao, Tokopedia board member and Senior Vice President, Alibaba Group, said: "Tokopedia, under the strong leadership of William and his team, has driven rapid and solid growth in the past four years since our investment. With the acceleration of digitization in Southeast Asia, we see tremendous opportunities in this region. We are confident that as the two champions come together, they are well positioned to create more value for employees, users and the industry as a whole.”
"It has been an incredible privilege for Sequoia India to be a small part of the journey of both Gojek and Tokopedia for the past 6-7 years,” said Shailendra Singh, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital (India) Singapore, an early investor in both companies. “GoTo is unique, strategic and powerful - there is no modern internet company, in any part the world that I’m aware of, that has such deep ownership of so many categories at the same time. Having worked closely with each of Andre, Kevin, William and Patrick over many years, I am super excited that they have come together to shape what is going to be one of the most exciting internet companies of our time."
James Mitchell, Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Executive Vice President of Tencent, said, “We are excited about the opportunities presented by GoTo, which combines Gojek and Tokopedia's complementary capabilities in areas including e-commerce, on-demand delivery and payment services, and creates a team positioned to drive regional and global internet innovation from Indonesia. We look forward to supporting the combined GoTo in Indonesia and across Southeast Asia in the years to come.”
Goldman Sachs is acting as the financial advisor to Gojek. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Assegaf Hamzah & Partners are serving as Gojek’s legal advisors.
Citi is acting as the financial advisor to Tokopedia. Allen & Overy LLP is serving as Tokopedia’s legal advisor.
1Lembaga Penyelidikan Ekonomi Masyarakat Universitas Indonesia (LPEM UI) (2019) "Tokopedia's Impact on the Indonesian Economy"; and Lembaga Demografi Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis Universitas Indonesia (LD FEB UI) (2020) "Role of Gojek's Ecosystem in the Indonesian Economy During and Before the COVID-19 Pandemic"
2Based on historical fundraising rounds for Gojek, priced in 2019 and Tokopedia, priced in early-2020, the combined past valuation of both companies was US$18 billion.
3Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand.