European micromobility provider Tier Mobility is moving into the North American market with the acquisition of Ford’s shared electric bike and scooter operator, Spin.
Following the recent acquisition of Europe’s largest bikeshare player nextbike, Tier is already operating in over 410 cities with a fleet of 250,000 vehicles. With the purchase of Spin and its 50,000 vehicles, Tier expands its global footprint to more than 520 cities and communities in 21 countries and its fleet to 300,000 vehicles. This makes TIER the largest multimodal micromobility operator globally.
Spin has strong city partnerships in North America, a history of city-focused innovation like sidewalk riding detection technology and groundbreaking approaches to building successful charging infrastructure. Tier has industry-leading safety features, the highest sustainability standards, and trailblazing innovations, such as the proprietary Tier Energy Network and swappable battery technology. Overall, this acquisition brings together two international players to become the most responsible and sustainable micromobility partner for cities in the world.
The two companies are committed to being the best possible partner for cities while building the safest, most equitable, and most sustainable mobility solution for people. Together, Tier and Spin will continue to pioneer the development of new standards and to build trust in e-scooters and e-bikes among communities and cities by enabling technology that creates a safer experience for riders, pedestrians and all other road users on both sides of the Atlantic. Investing in and modernizing the Spin fleet with 100% swappable batteries will be one of many upcoming projects to achieve environmental sustainability and efficiency in the North American micromobility industry.
“Tier’s acquisition of Spin and our entry into the North American market are huge milestones in our mission to Change Mobility for Good,” says Lawrence Leuschner, CEO and co-founder of Tier Mobility. “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 decarbonize towns and cities across the world. We look forward to delivering this together with Spin who share our values of responsible partnership and sustainable vision.”
The purchase of Spin is the latest significant move for Teir, following the recent acquisitions of the Italian market leader Wind Mobility, and of Europe’s top bikeshare player nextbike in 2021. In October 2021, TIER announced the first close of its $200 million Series D funding round, solidifying its position as the best-funded micromobility company in Europe. To date, TIER has raised a total of $660 million in equity and debt.
Spin recently restructured to focus 100% of its markets on limited or single vendor markets where cities or campus officials select partners through a competitive procurement process. Due to Spin’s partnership focus, the company has retained 100% of its permits over the last five quarters. The markets where Spin chose to continue operating were collectively EBITDA positive over the past 12 months, an approach that aligns with TIER’s focus on building both an environmentally and economically sustainable business. Spin’s team will continue in North America as a separate entity, while transferring its UK business to TIER at a later date.
The amount of the purchase price and further financial details of the transaction will not be disclosed. J.P. Morgan acted as financial advisor, and White & Case LLP acted as legal advisor to TIER on the transaction.
