Uber-owned Careem launches spinoff with $400m investment from Emirates e&

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Careem, the Uber-owned ride-hailing service, announced Monday that it is spinning off, with strong backing from a new source and its parent company.

Abu Dhabi-based technology holding company e& (formerly Etisalat) has signed a binding agreement with Uber Technologies to acquire a 50.03% majority in the spin-off company (to be known as Careem Technologies) for a $400 million investment equity.

Careem’s ride-hailing business is still wholly owned by Uber, which acquired it for $3.1 billion in 2019. Uber’s stake in the spin-off is currently undisclosed.

Careem Technologies will focus on the development of the company’s “super app,” which offers dozens of services beyond ride-hailing in one app. Some of these services include Careem Quik grocery delivery in 15 minutes or less, food delivery, PCR test bookings, digital payments and money transfers, bike rentals, laundry and cleaning services, and event ticket bookings.

“e& is investing $400 million to become a major shareholder in the Careem Super App, along with Uber and all three Careem co-founders,” said a statement from e&. The investment will significantly accelerate Careem’s goal of creating “the first ‘everything app'” for customers across the Middle East, the company wrote.

It added that Dubai-based Careem “expects significant synergies with e& and expects to benefit from e&’s large customer base”, as well as its experience in expanding technology businesses in the geographical areas shared by the two companies.

According to its website, Careem operates in more than 80 cities in 10 countries. Founded in Dubai in 2012 by co-founder and CEO Mudassir Sheikha, the company has grown from a Dubai-based ride-sharing company into a “super-app” platform used across the Middle East from Morocco to Pakistan.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated shortly.