People cross the Roberto Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh on Spin scooters, on July 20, 2021. Bird has paid US$19-million to acquire Spin from Berlin-based TIER Mobility.Jack Myer/The Associated Press
The electric bike and scooter rental market now has a dominant player, with Bird Global Inc. BRDS-N acquiring U.S. rival Spin from its German parent to create North America’s largest micromobility operator.
Bird, led by Toronto-based chair John Bitove, paid US$19-million to acquire Spin from Berlin-based TIER Mobility. The takeover adds 60,000 Spin e-bikes and scooters in 50 cities and university campuses to Bird’s network in 350 cities across four continents.
Many of the Spin scooters are fourth-generation machines, with extended range, batteries that can be swapped out when drained for charged fuel cells and turn signals. The combined business will operate in 87 per cent of North American cities with micromobility programs.
NYSE-listed Bird, which is based in Miami, projected US$20-million of annual synergies from the transaction. In a news release Tuesday, interim chief executive officer Michael Washinushi said: “Spin is a great financial and strategic acquisition for Bird and we expect this acquisition will enable us to achieve long term sustainable profitability.”
Bird’s major competitor in the rental e-bike and scooter market is Lime Micromobility, which is based in San Francisco.
Bird is paying US$10-million in cash for Spin, with TIER taking a US$6-million note and a future payment of US$3-million based on performance. Private equity fund Apollo Capital Management LP, an investor in Bird, funded a portion of the acquisition.
Bird’s share price almost doubled on news of the deal, rising 95 per cent to US$1.37 a share.
Spin generated revenues of US$45-million over the past 12 months. In its news release, Bird said the two companies would have had combined revenues of US$265-million over that period.
After the acquisition, Bird plans to keep the Spin brand on e-bikes and scooters in most cities.
Founded in 2017 by former Lyft and Uber executive Travis VanderZanden, Bird hit unicorn status in 2019 with a valuation of more than US$2-billion and backers that included Fidelity Investments.
The company went public in November, 2021, and is one of the many fallen angels in the tech sector, with the stock price down 99 per cent since its IPO and a market capitalization, even with Tuesday’s bump in the share price, of just US$18-million. Mr. VanderZanden left the Bird board of directors in June.
Mr. Bitove backed Bird’s Canadian unit, which merged with the parent company last December in a deal that saw him invest an additional US$32-million in the global business. Canadian private equity funds MacKinnon, Bennett & Co. Inc. and Relay Ventures are also backing Bird.
Since Bird and Spin launched, numerous cities have introduced restrictions on electric scooters, such as speed limits and parking zones. Paris made headlines last month for banning them ahead of next year’s Olympic Games.
Bird lost US$53.6-million in the first six months of the year, an improvement on its US$312.6-million loss in the same period in 2022, when the company restructured. “Last year we made the conscious decision to exit unprofitable markets. As a result we saw a year-over-year decline in rides,” Mr. Washinushi said last month, when the company reported financial results. “Nevertheless, we remain focused on our operational execution and becoming a profitable company.”