Understanding Reason Gojek Take Blue Bird Minority Shares

In a disclosure on February 14, PT Blue Bird Tbk (Blue Bird) admitted that the controlling family of the company had sold a 4,3% stake worth approximately $30 million (411 billion Rupiah) to an unnamed buyer. Bloomberg mentioned the buyer is Gojek which rumors have been swirling ever since end of last year.

The public naturally wonders why Gojek very interested in the shares of the largest taxi company in Indonesia. In our opinion, there are several points of concern about when Gojek cooperating with Blue Bird in their joint efforts to dominate the transportation service market on-demand in Indonesia.

Alliance and innovation

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Face Grab which has large funding from its investors, including the development of electric cars, this adage seems logical when Gojek cooperating with (and binding) Blue Bird to jointly "win" the Indonesian market.

Innovation Grab In the past year, Indonesia has seen a rapid start by initiating the Greenline taxi line and presenting an electric car line with Hyundai--as one of the investors.

Instead of "warring each other", the two allied and innovated. Blue Bird has a wide diversification of product lines, including electric cars BYD and Tesla, in various big cities in Indonesia but has a big homework on digital innovation.

On the other hand, Gojek included in the ranks of startups that are the fastest in innovation, including payment lines, but have a lack of diversification of transportation product lines. They rely heavily on the driver's partner's vehicle.

Digital transformation for Blue Bird

As a publicly listed company, it is very clear that Blue Bird's market capitalization and profits have not improved since its peak in early 2015 (before booming on-demand services entering Indonesia).

At that time the value per share of Blue Bird reached Rp12.100. As of this writing 5 years later, the figure has shrunk to Rp2400, meaning that the company's market capitalization is only one-fifth.

By officially becoming a (minority) owner, technology transfer, for example a mapping system, determination of Points of Interest, and ways of communicating between drivers and passengers should be on the agenda. Gojek.

It is hoped that this collaboration can be a positive signal, especially for public investors, that Blue Bird can continue to survive and be relevant. Unlike other taxi companies that crumble between service storms on-demand with an injection of funds jor-rod.

Will it become a trend?

We must wait and see saw the results of a broader partnership between the two companies this year. Focus Gojek who started pursuit of income and profit increasingly fitting juxtaposed with corporations such as Blue Bird.

It's still too premature to speculate on the direction of the collaboration between the two, or whether this kind of synergy will become a new trend between tech startups and conventional companies.

Clear Gojek has been one step ahead in fortifying Blue Bird, as a taxi company with brand values best, from the temptations of its competitors. It is not impossible that we will see a choice of GoSilverBird or GoBlueBirdElektrik in the near future.