Uber claims consolidation is not the "strategy of the day" after seeing another part of the business heading to a local competitor.
This is the message from CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in a message to employees following the "merger" of its Southeast Asian business with Singapore-based Grab.
The agreement includes giving Uber a 27.5% stake in the combined entity and Khosrowshahi a seat on Grab's board of directors.
Subscribe to our newsletter below
Grab will also take over running of Uber's food delivery service in the region.
The Uber app will stop working within a few weeks in the countries included in the deal, with users directed to the ride-hailing service provided Grab.
Around 500 staff at Uber's offices in Southeast Asia will shift to Grab.
Reorganizing the business
Uber's interests in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines are now effectively run by its previous closest competitor.
The deal follows similar restructuring in 2016, when it got out of China by way of an agreement with Didi, plus 2017's decision to leave Russia and sell to Yandex.
Khosrowshahi says a "potential danger" of its existing global strategy is it takes on too many battles on too many fronts, against too many competitors.
He adds: "This transaction now puts us in a position to compete with real focus and weight in the core markets where we operate, while giving us valuable and growing equity stakes in a number of big and important markets where we don’t."
In the immediate future, Khosrowshahi argues that the best strategy for Uber is to focus on "organic growth", through providing the "best products, services and technology in the world", alongside internal and external efforts to rebuild the brand.
For its part, Grab co-founder and group CEO, Anthony Tan, says the deal "marks the beginning of a new era" for the company.
He says: The combined business is the leader in platform and cost efficiency in the region. Together with Uber, we are now in an even better position to fulfil our promise to outserve our customers.
"Their trust in us as a transport brand allows us to look towards the next step as a company: improving people’s lives through food, payments and financial services."