Tech Gadget Central Latest Tech News and Reviews
Bird filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, ending a rough year for the electric scooter company.
Bird announced today that it had begun a “financial restructuring process aimed at strengthening its balance sheet” but would continue to pursue “long-term, sustainable growth.”
Bird, founded in 2017 by former Lyft and Uber executive Travis VanderZanden, is one of many dockless micromobility platforms that let city dwellers rent electric scooters or bikes for short periods of time. The company went public in late 2021 via a SPAC merger, but its stock plummeted in a crowded market with questionable economics, dropping from more than $2 billion at its NYSE debut to $70 million 12 months later. This decline caused the NYSE to warn that Bird’s share price was too low.
In June, CEO VanderZanden resigned as its share price fell, and the company was delisted from the NYSE in September.
Bird also laid off workers after buying Spin for $19 million.
Chapter 11
Bankruptcy allows Bird to restructure its finances without disrupting operations. MidCap Financial, a division of Apollo Global Management, will provide $25 million in financing during the proceedings.
The goal is to sell Bird’s assets, and a “stalking horse” agreement starts a bidding process to maximize value. Bird’s lenders set a baseline bid before opening it up to external suitors over four months.
According to the statement, interim CEO Michael Washinushi will work before and after the restructuring.
“This announcement marks a significant milestone in Bird’s transformation, which began with new leadership early this year,” Washinushi said. “We are making progress toward profitability and want to accelerate that by restructuring our capital structure. We aim to make cities more liveable by reducing car usage, traffic, and carbon emissions with micromobility.
Bird’s Canadian and European operations will “continue to operate as normal,” according to the company, despite this bankruptcy filing.
Three years after going public via a SPAC merger, competitor Micromobility.com was delisted from the Nasdaq for its failing stock price a day earlier. European dockless scooter startup Tier laid off 22% of its workforce after Dutch e-bike startup VanMoof filed for bankruptcy.
Overall, micromobility has had a bad year.
