Retail in Asia

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Indonesia’s Gojek acquires minority stake in hypermarket Matahari

Indonesian hail-and-ride service Gojek has acquired a minority stake in local hypermarket store Matahari, via a subsidiary, according to a report by Nikkei Asia.

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Documents filed to the Indonesian Stock Exchange on 11th May showed that the
unicorn startup had acquired 4.76% of Matahari Putra Prima from its parent, Multipolar, an affiliate of Indonesian conglomerate Lippo Group, which has a stake in Gojek rival, Grab.

The stake was taken at 404 rupiah per share, meaning Gojek spent around US$10.1 million. Two other Cayman Islands-based investment companies also put money in Matahari, continued the report.

Agus Arismunandar, the Director of Multipolar, said the investment was a strategic move that “has a good rate of return in the future.”

The Matahari investment comes as Gojek looks to strengthen its retail position in the local Indonesia market, both online and offline.

In September, Gojek launched its GoToko service that connects ‘warung’ — local mom-and-pop shops — with consumer goods companies so to help retailers replenish inventories. In March, Gojek also invested in KitaBeli, a social commerce startup targeting regional areas, through its venture capital arm, Go Ventures.

Gojek is currently in talks for merger with Indonesian tech and e-commerce firm, Tokopedia, after the news was announced in early 2021. It expects the merge to complete at the end of August.

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Founded in 2010 by Nadiem Makarim, Kevin Aluwi, and Michaelangelo Moran, Gojek is headquartered in Jakarta. The app claims to process 200 million-plus orders each month.

Founded in 1958, Matahari boasts 208 hypermarkets, supermarkets, grocery stores and pharmacies nationwide.