Grab-Uber deal review suspended due to ‘voluntary commitments’

The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said on Saturday it has suspended its ongoing motu propio review of  the acquisition by Grab Holdings Inc. of the Southeast Asian business of Uber Technologies Inc., after Grab submitted "voluntary commitments" to address anti-trust concerns.

"The PCC has suspended its review of the Grab-Uber deal because Grab submitted voluntary commitments for our cosideration," PCC Chairman Arsenio Balisacan told GMA News Online.

"Per our Merger Rules, the review is suspended while the PCC is assessing the voluntary commitments, whether these commitments sufficiently address the competition concerns raised in the Statement of Concerns (SOC) of our Mergers and Acquisitions Office," Balisacan said.

On April 3, the PCC ordered its Mergers and Acquisitions Office (MAO) to conduct a motu proprio review of Grab's acquisition of its rival Uber's business in Southeast Asia as it may likely lessen competition in the ride-hailing sector in the country.

Uber Technologies sold its Southeast Asian business to Grab, resulting in an operational merger in the Philippines.

On May 28, the PCC released an executive summary of the Statement on Concerns on the Grab-Uber deal, saying that Grab's quality of services declined after the transaction citing  higher incidents of driver cancellations, forced cancellation of rides, and the longer waiting times.

In a separate statement, PCC Commissioner Stella Quimbo said Grab submitted its proposed voluntary commitments on June 1.

GMA News Online sought details from officials of Grab Philippines for details of the voluntary commitments it submitted to the anti-trust watchdog, but no response yet has been received as of this posting.

"As per our rules, the parties are allowed to submit voluntary commitments to address the SOC," Quimbo said.

"Under a commitment track, we are reviewing the commitments submitted by the parties to determine if these commitments sufficiently address our concerns," she said.

"Now after 60 days, should our review of the commitments indicate that such are not responsive to PCC’s concerns on the merger, then we go back to the process of adjudication ('review track') whereby parties will submit comments and the Commission will decide on the case," she added. — MDM, GMA News