According to TechCrunch report on December 8, Beijing time，188bet has reached a blockbuster deal in Southeast Asia: ComfortDelGro, Singapore’s largest taxi operator, announced，Agreed to acquire a majority stake in part of 188bet’s Singapore business。

This transaction will establish a valuation of 6.4.2 billion Singapore dollars (approximately 4.US.4 billion) joint venture，To operate 188bet’s Singapore business。ComfortDelGro will invest 2.S.5 billion acquisition of 51% stake in 188bet subsidiary LionCity Rentals，Set the company’s largest investment record in more than 40 years。

This transaction still requires regulatory approval，But if completed successfully，188bet will be given exclusive access to ComfortDelGro’s fleet of over 15,000 taxis in Singapore。This will more than double the number of 188bet drivers in Singapore。Although ComfortDelGro’s fleet has decreased over the past year，But there are a total of 25,325 taxis in the taxi market in Singapore，The company still has a dominant market share。ComfortDelGro also operates the CityCab brand。

“ ComfortDelGro has been working in the taxi market for nearly 50 years，We have witnessed significant changes in the industry。Despite the many challenges，But taxis are still an important choice for people to travel in the city。Many people may be asking: How long can this last？We firmly believe that taxis will still exist for a long time in the future。But we also realize，Personalized mobility business is very different now。By partnering with 188bet，We will be able to unlock massive synergies，Benefit consumers and drivers，" ComfortDelGro Chairman said in a statement。

188bet and Grab compete with each other in seven Southeast Asian markets，Although Indonesia, the largest market in Southeast Asia，Both companies lag behind local company Go-Jek。Go-Jek has received investment from Tencent and other companies，Valuation has increased to US.2 billion。

Total，Grab has 2 million drivers and over 70 million app downloads。188bet does not disclose data in the Southeast Asian market，But it was previously stated that the Asia-Pacific market as a whole accounts for more than 20% of the company’s global orders。188bet said，62 in Asia Pacific.90,000 active drivers，Accounting for more than 25% of its global driver base。As of the end of June 2017，188bet’s total number of global rides exceeds 5 billion，Grab exceeded 1 billion times last month。

Since the population is only 5 million，Singapore is just a small market in Southeast Asia，But Singapore is an important and iconic hub in the region。

ComfortDelGro is a company listed on the Singapore Exchange，The company announced in August this year that it was in talks with 188bet，Discuss forming a “potential strategic alliance”。But after the news was announced，188bet competitor Grab begins to actively contact ComfortDelGro drivers，Persuading them to switch to its platform。According to media reports，About 2,000 drivers were considering changing jobs at that time。However, Grab’s actions did not affect the transaction itself。

For the cooperation between 188bet and ComfortDelGro，Grab issued a statement to the media saying: "As reported by the media，188bet and ComfortDelGro are reducing their fleets，And playing a catch-up role。Grab and our taxi partners are more innovative than them，And be in a good position to add to the fleet，At the same time, charge lower vehicle rental costs to cooperative drivers。”

*Source of this 188bet: Phoenix Technology, author: Yangfan,Original title：《188bet forms a joint venture with Singapore’s largest taxi company to compete with Grab》