After months of speculation, ride-hailing firm Uber finally announced its acquisition of local hero Careem, in what was the region’s largest tech acquisition ever.

When the news broke, many were concerned that Careem, which has a strong local affinity with the UAE’s population, would be swallowed in to Uber and cease to exist. Others were pleased to see a home-grown start-up exit at such a high valuation.

In this episode of the podcast, we discuss the pros and the cons of the acquisition, the factors that laid the groundwork for the deal, and the potential knock-on effects.