Southeast Asian ride-hailing platform Grab is advancing talks to acquire Goto, according to Bloomberg.

A report on Tuesday said Grab has been evaluating Goto's accounts, contracts, and operations.

At the same time, Grab, Goto and their shareholders have been assessing the potential structure and value of an agreement.

Grab, which is backed by Uber, has had off-and-on talks with GoTo, but a merger never materialized, the report said.

In February, it was reported that Grab was considering a valuation of more than $7 billion for GoTo, with one option being to acquire all of its shares for more than Rp100 per share.

And people with knowledge of the talks said discussions had intensified, with both sides seeing 2025 as the right year to reach an agreement.

Bloomberg analyst Nathan Naidu believes that regulatory approval for a Grab and GoTo merger or Grab's acquisition of GoTo is highly unlikely, given that the merged entity would capture 60-70% of the Southeast Asian on-demand services market.

He points out that a merger of the two companies could not only invite strict regulatory scrutiny, but could also lead to a shrinking workforce.