European micro-mobility operator TIER Mobility AG has acquired the German bike-sharing company nextbike. With the acquisition, TIER expands its large portfolio of shared, light electric vehicles with rental bikes and e-bikes.
The combined force of the two companies will create Europe’s largest and most diverse micro-mobility provider with more than 250,000 vehicles in over 400 cities.
The combination of bicycles, e-bikes, cargo bikes, e-scooters and e-mopeds in free-floating, station-based and hybrid sharing systems creates a truly multimodal platform.
Leipzig-based nextbike has been operating bike rental systems since 2004
nextbike will be able to leverage TIER’s financial resources, which was further bolstered by its recent Series D financing round of $200million.
Lawrence Leuschner, CEO and Co-Founder of TIER Mobility, says: “The acquisition of nextbike – with its unrivalled experience and relationships across hundreds of cities – is a unique opportunity to take bikeshare to the next level, getting more people out of cars and offering the most sustainable mobility solution. I have always held a deep belief in the transformative power of bikes in cities – and it is great to see the bike market is growing rapidly. Our shared values of sustainability and respect for cities across two strong leadership teams, underpinned by TIER’s financial backing and capital efficiency, present an unstoppable, joint mission to change mobility for good.”
Leonhard von Harrach, CEO nextbike, adds: “Since 2004, we have been providing sustainable mobility to hundreds of thousands of people every day and have established bike sharing as a component of public transport worldwide. We decided to partner with TIER because there is a significant common ground in the corporate culture. Above all, however, we are united in our mission to make cities more liveable with our mobility services and to do something about traffic congestion, pollution and noise. The fact that this is a reality today is due to, among other things, to the founders of Nextbike, who were pioneers in the European mobility sharing market and were already renting out bicycles when there were no apps.”
TIER has expanded its presence to 16 countries in Europe and the Middle East with market entries in Hungary, the Netherlands and Bahrain.
At a valuation of $2 billion, TIER has raised a total of $660 million in equity and debt capital so far.
Keyword: TIER Mobility AG Acquires German Bike-Sharing Company nextbike GmbH