KUALA LUMPUR/JAKARTA -- Low-cost carrier AirAsia is finalizing discussions to acquire Indonesian unicorn Gojek's business in Thailand, sources with knowledge of the matter told Nikkei Asia.
An agreement with Gojek, one of the most powerful "superapps" in Southeast Asia, would be a step forward in AirAsia's own ambitions to generate growth in its digital business.
It would also suggest how Gojek is reshaping its regional business in the wake of its announcement in May that it would merge with Tokopedia, one of Indonesia's largest e-commerce platforms, to form GoTo.
A Malaysian government source told Nikkei Asia that the country's regulators have approved the proposed acquisition by AirAsia, the airline owned by Tony Fernandes. A deal could be announced soon but could still be delayed.
A different source with knowledge of the matter said the deal will be a share swap between Gojek and AirAsia, where Gojek takes stakes in AirAsia's superapp business in return for its Thai business.
AirAsia has been working on building its own "superapp," with Fernandes publicly stating his intention to compete with Gojek and Grab, its Singapore-based rival, which is headed for a U.S. stock market listing this year.
AirAsia Digital, including the company's non-airline businesses, already includes food and fresh food delivery, courier services, an e-commerce platform and a payment gateway but has lacked ride-hailing compared with the other big players in the market.
"In this way, AirAsia would make its foray into the ride-hailing business as well as expand its food delivery business, which is available in Malaysia and Singapore," said another source from the airline who declined to be identified as the information is confidential.
AirAsia has been present in Thailand's aviation industry since 2003 via Thai AirAsia. It currently operates in Malaysia and Singapore while its stand-alone cargo company Teleport is present in major countries in Southeast Asia, including Thailand.
GoTo said in May that it remained "committed in all of our markets outside Indonesia." But the combined group lags its rivals in international expansion. Tokopedia only operates in Indonesia, while Gojek has operations in three countries outside of its home market -- Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore.
A source with knowledge of the matter said the deal will "allow Gojek to focus its resources in its Vietnam and Singapore business."
Grab operates in eight Southeast Asian countries. Sea, another "superapp," is in six countries in the region, with further operations in Taiwan and four South American countries.
According to food delivery research by Singaporean consultancy Momentum Works, Gojek's service had a far smaller share of the Thai and Vietnam markets compared to Grab and Sea in 2020.
GrabFood took up 50% of Thailand's $2.8 billion food delivery market in 2020 in terms of gross merchandise value, while Frankfurt-listed Delivery Hero Group's Foodpanda and Line's Lineman covered 23% and 20% respectively. Gojek's GoFood had a 7% share in the market.
Additional reporting by Masayuki Yuda in Bangkok