Uber can watch an e-scooter buoy of bird or lime: Report
The leading rideship company is looking at the acquisition of one of two leaders in electric scooter rental, according to a new report from the Information. What the report says may constitute a "multibillion dollar deal", Uber has reportedly launched discussions to buy either Bird or Lime.
The three-city report published Friday cited more people with knowledge of the talks. The withdrawal reported that a potential acquisition of a company comes as Uber wishes to "expand on to the rapidly expanding market for electric scooter services." According to the information, there is a possibility that an agreement could be negotiated by the end of the year:
While Uber has not yet reached a decision on which way to pursue, the riant giant has recently come to the conclusion that an acquisition could contribute to ease supply constraints to scooters, a problem it has met as it seeks to expand its own rental service for two-wheeled vehicles, said the person. At the same time, Bird and Lime has continued to gather pressure.
Uber already has a minority stake in Lime, as the information noted, and the rideshare company introduced Lime Rentals through its app during the summer. Uber Chief of New Mobility Rachel Holt said in a statement when the "investment and partnership in Lime is another step towards our vision of becoming a one-stop shop for all your transportation needs."
Lime has had a tough turn over the past couple of months, with the company engaging in a PR face with Segway over allegedly blazing scooter batteries that issue a global recall of reports, some of their scooters may break while they are being used , and lose a bid on the San Francisco e-scooter pilot program.
Still, both companies are valuable operations. As the information noted, "Bird was valued at $ 2 billion in its previous round of collections, while Lime's last valuation was $ 1.1 billion."
The information reported that Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden said through a spokesman that the company was not "for
A representative of Uber rejected Gizmodo's request for comments.
[The Information]
