Uber is Buying Dubai’s Careem for $3.1 billion

The car service app will now head to Morocco and Iraq

Most Careem users received a message today announcing a new merge with rival app Uber. 

Dubai based car service Careem was founded in 2012 and operates in 100 cities across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia

The lucrative $3.1 billion acquisition will give Uber an entryway to Arab countries like Iraq and Morocco where it wasn’t previously present.

Careem, the beloved Arab app, will continue to operate independently with its own pricing system (paying wait time, but less surcharges than Uber). As Uber’s biggest acquisition to date after having announced a loss of around $3.3 billion last year on revenues due to tough competition in Europe and the US, and the closing of some key markets like China. 

In countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, this deal will eliminate the customer’s option to choose between both apps.

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