Bird Rides Inc., the Santa Monica-based electric scooter rental company, has reportedly announced to have acquired Scoot Networks Inc., a San Francisco headquartered company.
As per trusted sources, Scoot Networks has raised a total funding of $47 million, its largest funding round being in October 2017, where it raised $31.5 million from investing companies like Vision Ridge Partners, Boulder and New York based MI ventures.
Bird Inc. operates 6,500 scooters in L.A. and 750 in Santa Monica. With the addition of Scoot Networks, the company can extend its presence to San Francisco where it was reportedly denied permission to provide scooters on rent.
For the record, Bird Inc. has raised over $700 million and is backed by funding companies like Upfront Ventures and Science Inc. The company is also said to be raising and addition of $300 million in the next funding round.
Michael Keating, Founder of Scoot Networks, Inc., was reportedly quoted stating that the company’s mission will remain the same with Bird, however, both the companies will now cater to a larger audience. The vehicles offered by both the companies will be improved to serve the customers better. They will feature upgraded technology and provide services to more communities, he further added.
Apparently, Scoot Networks began operations in 2012 in San Francisco. It provides mopeds and cycles on rent via app. Scoot Network is also believed to have its presence in Barcelona, Spain, Chile and Santiago.
After the acquisition, Scoot will continue to operate under its existing brand name, however, Bird Rides Inc. will act as its parent company. Other e-scooter rental companies like Lyft, Lime and Uber are likely to face strong competition.
As per trusted sources, financial details related to the deal have not been disclosed so far.
Source: http://labusinessjournal.com/news/2019/jun/12/bird-acquires-scoot-networks/
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-12/bird-is-acquiring-scoot-expanding-scooter-rental-network?utm_source=google&utm_medium=bd&cmpId=google
