European micromobility provider Tier Mobility has announced today its acquisition of Ford-owned e-bike and e-scooter operator Spin, marking the Berlin-based company’s entry into North America.
The news follows Tier’s recent acquisitions of micromobility operator Wind Mobility and of one of Europe’s largest bike-share players, nextbike. With the purchase of Spin and its 50,000 vehicles, Tier will expand its global footprint to more than 520 cities and communities in 21 countries and its fleet to 300,000 vehicles.
The amount of the purchase price and further financial details of the transaction will not be disclosed. Spin’s team will continue to operate in the USA and Canada as a separate entity, while transferring its UK business to Tier at a later date.
Read more: Spin achieves one million UK shared e-scooter rides
Lawrence Leuschner, CEO and co-founder of Tier Mobility, said: “Tier’s acquisition of Spin and our entry into the North American market are huge milestones in our mission to change mobility for good.
“We are excited to support citizens in cities and communities across North America to make the switch from cars to more sustainable urban mobility solutions – a switch that is urgently needed to decarbonise towns and cities across the world.”
Spin has developed a number of city partnerships in North America and city-focused innovation, such as pavement riding detection technology and charging infrastructure. Tier will invest in and modernise the Spin fleet with its proprietary swappable battery technology to help achieve environmental sustainability and efficiency in the North American market.
Ben Bear, CEO of Spin, said: “Tier and Spin share the same foundational view of how to deliver world-class micromobility services to cities and riders.
“Both companies believe in a partnership-first approach, operating with employees rather than contractors, and helping get people out of cars by offering sustainable, equitable, and safe micromobility services.”
Spin recently restructured to focus on limited or single vendor markets where cities or campus officials select partners through a competitive procurement process. The company has retained all of its permits over the last five quarters and the markets where Spin chose to continue operating were collectively EBITDA positive over the past 12 months.
Ford Motor Company will remain involved as a strategic investor in Tier, which, in October 2021, announced the first close of its US$200m (£150m) Series D funding round. To date, Tier has raised a total of US$660m (£496m) in equity and debt.
