Singapore’s Competition Commission to Investigate Uber/ComfortDelGro Deal
On Monday, Singapore’s Competition Commission announced an in-depth assessment of the tie-up between ComfortDelGro and Uber. The agency wants both companies to submit additional information by March 5th, so it can assess whether the new relationship infringes on Singapore’s competition laws.
In December of 2017, ComfortDelGro proposed to acquire a 51 percent stake in Uber’s rental car business, Lion City Holdings, estimated to be worth $642 million[1]. The deal would mark ComfortDelGro’s largest to date and add another 14,000 vehicles to its rental fleet from Lion City Rentals. Under the new team-up, ComfortDelGro’s taxis and Lion City Rentals’ private-hire cars will be dispatched using a centralized fleet management system.
After completing an initial review, The Competition Commission of Singapore issued a statement earlier this week about their findings. “CCS is unable to conclusively determine that competition issues will not arise,” they said. [2]
[1] http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/watchdog-to-study-comfort-uber-deal-further
[2] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-comfortdelgro/singapore-competition-agency-to-look-closer-at-uber-tie-up-with-comfortdelgro-idUSKCN1G314V
