Homegrown decacorn Gojek has secured Rp 14.5 billion (US$963,297) in fresh capital injection from seven investors during the last four to five months, paving the way for the company ‘s “super app” expansion plans while attracting new investors.

Currently valued at $10 billion, the company raised a combined total of Rp 1.4 billion in its series P funding round from three new investors: Rp 1.2 billion from Jakarta-based East Ventures, Rp 97.5 million from Mandiri Capital Indonesia and Rp 113 million from Silicon Valley-based Fenox Venture Capital, kontan.co.id reported.

Earlier in February, PT Pusaka Citra Djokosoetono also purchased 5,941 shares in the series P funding worth Rp 2.9 billion. The company is the majority shareholder of the Blue Bird Group, the holding company that operates Blue Bird taxi, Gojek’s erstwhile rival.

Also in February, PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa, the company that owns the Gojek brand, acquired 4.33 percent shares in the Blue Bird taxi company from Pusaka Citra Djokosoetono, worth Rp 450 billion, as reported by Bloomberg.

The acquisition was widely viewed as part of Gojek’s strategy to manage competition with its primary rival, Singapore-based ride-hailing company Grab Holdings, while expanding its food delivery and digital payment businesses.

Gojek’s existing investors have also increased their investment through the series P funding this year, with tech giant Google Asia Pacific purchasing 11,883 additional shares worth Rp 5.9 billion. The latest acquisition increases Google’s ownership in Gojek to 8.69 percent, from 2.59 percent in the series I round of funding and 5.24 percent in the series M round.

Meanwhile, SMDV II SG, the Sinar Mas Group’s Singapore-based venture capital arm, has invested Rp 1.4 billion in the company through the series P funding this year. In November 2019, Unilever Swiss Holdings acquired 5,530 shares in Gojek worth Rp 2.77 billion.

Gojek released 45,552 shares for the first part of its series P funding round in June 2019, which were acquired by the United States’ Visa International Service Association and Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Lease and Finance at Rp 500,000 per share for a total value of Rp 22.8 billion.

The ride-hailing company has issued 1.7 million shares in funding rounds from series A to series P, with paid-up capital totaling Rp 689.87 billion. The company has around 130 institutional and individual investors listed as registered shareholders in its updated articles of association dated April 23, 2020. (eyc)

Source: The Jakarta Post