On Monday, the ride-hailing business Careem, which is owned by Uber, announced a spinoff with significant support from both its parent company and a new source.
With a $400 million investment, the Abu Dhabi-based tech holding firm e&, formerly known as Etisalat, entered into a legally binding agreement with Uber Technologies to purchase a 50.03% controlling ownership in the spinoff, which will be called as Careem Technologies.
Uber, which purchased Careem’s ride-hailing company for $3.1 billion in 2019, continues to be the only owner of it. Uber’s current ownership percentage in the spinoff is unknown.
Careem Technologies will concentrate on the expansion of the business’s “super app,” which provides several services in addition to taxi hailing in a single app. Careem Quik offers a variety of services, such as grocery delivery in 15 minutes or less, meal delivery, ordering PCR tests, digital payments and remittance transfers, renting bicycles, ordering laundry and cleaning, and purchasing event tickets.
In its newly formed organization, Careem has stressed the continuing significance of Uber. The spokesman stated, “Uber will continue to have a stake in the spinout, but the spinout will be autonomous and have a separate ownership structure.
With e&’s roughly $500 million investment, which includes a controlling share in Careem Technologies, and continuous backing from Uber, Careem claims it is optimistic about the expansion of its super app aspirations.
According to its website, Careem works in more than 80 locations and 10 countries. The company, which was founded in 2012 by Mudassir Sheikha and Magnus Olsson in Dubai, evolved from a ride-sharing service to a “Super App” platform that is utilized all throughout the Middle East, from Morocco to Pakistan.