Fair Trade Commission approves Uber's acquisition of Crown Taxi

Taipei, Jan. 7 (CNA) The Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday gave the nod to the Taiwan subsidiary of U.S.-based Uber Technologies, Inc. to acquire Taiwanese taxi company Crown Taxi.

The commission said in a press release that the two companies were previously in a partnership, and the merger will not significantly change their share of the taxi dispatching service market.

It noted that Taiwan's market consists of other competitors including Taiwan Taxi Co., Ltd., Line GO, yoxi, and Europe-based Bolt, which launched service in Taiwan in 2025.

The commission said its assessment found that Uber would not pose significant competition restriction risks in the relevant market, such as unilaterally raising fares, colluding with other companies to fix prices, or creating barriers to market entry.

It added that the merger would facilitate business integration and reduce administrative layers, thereby improving operational efficiency.

The commission said that both Uber and Crown Taxi provide taxi dispatch services, constituting a horizontal merger. It added that a vertical merger is also involved, as Uber supplies the dispatching system used by Crown Taxi's drivers.