Express Transindo Utama Takes Over Ekspres Mulia Kencana for US $6.87 million
Express Transindo Utama (Express), the Indonesian taxi operator that is controlled by Peter Sondakh's Rajawali Corpora, has acquired an entire stake in Jakarta-based taxi operator Ekspres Mulia Kencana for IDR 67 billion (USD $6.87 million). This take over - which had been announced last year - will add 2,000 licensed taxi units to the company's current total taxi fleet size of about 8,000 taxis (which are primarily in operation in the Greater Jakarta area).
In November 2012, Express went public on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (thus becoming Indonesia's first publicly traded cab service) by selling 49 percent of its equity. It raised IDR 588.7 billion (about USD $60 million). Part of these proceeds were used to acquire Ekspres Mulia Kencana. Shares of Express have surged about 33 percent year-to-date. This year, Express targets a rise in revenue of about 30 percent and a rise in net profit of about 65 percent.
Express intends to rejuvenate and expand its taxi fleet size in the years ahead:
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013¹ | 2015¹ | |
| Taxi Fleet Size |
3,198 | 4,922 | 6,002 | 8,035 | 10,000 | 15,000 |
¹ indicates a prognosis
Source: Express Group
There are dozens of (mostly smaller) taxi companies active in Indonesia, but two stand out as market leaders: Blue Bird Group and Express Transindo Utama. Last week, Blue Bird announced to become a publicly listed company in the middle of this year.