Gojek and Tokopedia officially merge to form GoTo Group in Indonesia's biggest deal

Gojek and Tokopedia are officially merging to form GoTo Group, marking the largest ever business combination in Indonesia and the largest between two Asia-based Internet media and services companies to date, the press statement said. The new entity had a total group gross transaction value of more than US$22 billion last year and over 1.8 billion transactions. Its ecosystem encompasses 2% of Indonesia’s GDP and has over 100 million monthly active users. As of December 2020, GoTo has a total registered driver fleet of over two million and over 11 million merchant partners. News of the merger first broke in January when Bloomberg reported that both companies were in talks to close a US$18 billion deal ahead of a dual listing in Jakarta and the US.

Gojek’s Andre Soelistyo (pictured left) will lead the combined business as GoTo Group CEO, with Tokopedia’s Patrick Cao (pictured second from left) serving as GoTo Group president. Kevin Aluwi (pictured second from right) will continue as CEO of Gojek and William Tanuwijaya (pictured right) 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.

GoTo will continue to focus on the fast-growing and emerging markets where Gojek already operates in. The creation of the new entity also means same-day eCommerce 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. While Gojek's spokesperson declined to reveal the monetary value of the merger, she said there will be no changes to the marketing teams.

Gojek and Tokopedia were both founded over a decade ago and first began working together in 2015 to accelerate eCommerce deliveries using Gojek’s local network of drivers. The companies will continue to thrive and coexist as stand-alone brands within the strengthened ecosystem.

Soelistyo said today is “a truly historic day” as it marks the beginning of GoTo and the next phase of growth for Gojek, Tokopedia, and GoTo Financial. “We will use our combined scale to increase financial inclusion in an emerging region with untapped growth potential,” he added.

Meanwhile, Cao said the 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-earnings 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.” He said.

Tanuwijaya said the establishment of GoTo Group proves that individuals can believe in the Indonesian dream and make it a reality. At the same time, Aluwi described the merger as the coming together of two like-minded companies and that there is a great cultural fit between the management teams.

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.

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