According to latest reports, Careem will continue to operate independently as a wholly owned subsidiary of Uber.
The deal reflects the growing importance of the technology sector in the region and also the immense potential growing economies such as Pakistan and Egypt offer due to their significant domestic markets.
The email announcement from the Uber Chief Executive mentions Pakistan as one of the company's fastest growing markets in the world, highlights the new opportunities in Saudi Arabia and the potential in Egypt.
To achieve this valuation and growth over the years, Careem has raised in excess of $700m from high profile investors since 2013.
The deal is significant as Careem's technology development, business and teams are also based in the Middle East and Pakistan and hence the valuation represents the growth that has been achieved by the company in the region relying on regional resources and opportunities.
This is the largest technology sector transaction in the Middle East so far, eclipsing Amazon’s $580 million acquisition of Souq in 2017. In a highly anticipated announcement on Tuesday morning, it was confirmed that Uber will buy all of Careem’s mobility, delivery, and payments businesses across all of its markets including Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The $3.1bn is split into $1.4bn in cash and $1.7bn in notes convertible to Uber stock.
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