DIGIVESTASI - PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk (GOTO) recorded a total loss of Rp 90.5 trillion in 2023. The latest financial report states that the loss was caused by the liquidation of goodwill of IDR 78.8 trillion required by financial accounting standards. Based on an official statement, this is the result of an agreement between Tokopedia and TikTok which resulted in GoTo losing control of Tokopedia starting February 1, 2024.  

Previously, GoTo CEO Patrick Warujo said the decision to sell Tokopedia to TikTok's parent, ByteDance, was necessary for the company's survival. "Many people don't understand what I experienced at that time. It was a choice between survival and death. "Indeed, the death is slow but sure," he said at the Deal Street Asia Indonesia PE/VC Summit in January 2024. Patrick admitted that his decision to sell Tokopedia to ByteDance received a lot of criticism. The agreed price was considered too low because the shares were sold. 

"We were asked why we would give away 75% of our shares for that amount of money. There was a lot of criticism of this deal," Patrick said.  In February last year, a public relations document revealed that Tokopedia's market valuation before ByteDance's investment was Rp9.41 trillion or equivalent to $606 million.

This means that Tokopedia lost its unicorn status after the merger with Gojek and went public as GOTO before the inclusion of TikTok. The valuation is also far below the highest valuation the company posted before the merger with Gojek. As part of its recent funding as an independent company, Tokopedia received Series H funding of $350 million from Temasek and Google at a valuation of $7.5 billion.  

This means that Tokopedia's valuation has plummeted 92% since its peak. This situation led Patrick to push for a partnership between Tokopedia and TikTok to strengthen their position as a leading e-commerce platform. ByteDance is investing $1.5 billion or around Rp23.38 trillion in PT Tokopedia. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.  

This corporate action means that Tokopedia and TikTok Shop India operations will be merged under PT Tokopedia, with TikTok controlling PT Tokopedia. TikTok's app shopping service function in Indonesia is operated and managed by PT Tokopedia.

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