Berlin-based unicorn TIER acquires German bikeshare company Nextbike: Know more here

Berlin-based micro-mobility company TIER Mobility on Monday announced the acquisition of Leipzig-based bikeshare player Nextbike. TIER has purchased a 100 per cent stake in the German bike-sharing company. 

TIER will acquire the shares from the previous majority shareholder Co-Investor Partners, an equity investor focused on high-growth companies in the DACH region, and all other shareholders in an all-cash transaction. 

The amount of the deal has not been disclosed.

Developing sustainable bike sharing systems

Founded in 2004 by Ralf Kalupner, Nextbike is a bike-sharing company that almost exclusively operates in the cities. It has established a profitable shared mobility business model in its 17 years of existence.

Since 2004, the micro mobility pioneer has been developing smart bike rental systems and mobilising millions of people in a sustainable way. The company operates bike-sharing systems on its own and with a network of international franchise partners. 

It is active in over 300 cities in 28 countries, mostly on behalf of the public sector. In close partnership with the cities and local transport companies, tailor-made offers are created and integrated into the respective mobility concept.

Despite the pandemic, the company witnessed a 50 per cent increase in usage of its services. In total, 60 projects across 17 countries were supplied with new bikes in the last 18 months. Some of its other developments include modernisation of KVB bikes in Cologne with 3,000 new bikes, network expansions in Budapest, Bilbao, and Gothenburg, and market entry to Italy and Montenegro. 

In September, the city of Vienna awarded Nextbike a contract for the realisation of the new “WienMobil Rad” with over 3,000 bikes.

Speaking on the development, Leonhard von Harrach, CEO of nextbike says, “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, the founders of Nextbike, who were pioneers in the European mobility sharing market and were already renting out bicycles when there were no apps.”

Aim of this acquisition

TIER says that with this acquisition, the combined force of the two companies will become Europe’s largest and diverse micro-mobility provider with more than 250,000 vehicles in over 400 cities.

Together with Nextbike, TIER’s portfolio of mobility options will include bicycles, e-bikes, cargo bikes, e-scooters, and e-mopeds in free-floating, station-based and hybrid sharing systems creating the industry’s first multimodal platform. The development will also help users as now they can choose between different means of transport for each route without using their own car.

Lawrence Leuschner, CEO and co-founder of TIER Mobility, says, “The acquisition of Nextbike 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.”

“Change Mobility For Good”

Founded by Lawrence Leuschner, Julian Blessin, and Matthias Laug, TIER Mobility is a shared micro-mobility provider of e-scooters, e-bikes, and e-mopeds integrated with 30 different public transport providers. 

Through its platform, the company allows for the integration of all micro-mobility assets. This enables it to enter strategic partnerships with public transportation providers and other mobility providers such as Sixt – a German multinational car rental company.

TIER’s battery-swapping technology and fully owned operations – which utilises electric cargo bikes and electric vans – eliminate the need to transport vehicles to warehouses for charging. This reduces operational costs as well as emissions.

As part of its commitment to sustainability, the company has adopted the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a guiding framework and has set a clear agenda for reducing and offsetting emissions. Tier Mobility claims to have been a climate-neutral company since January 2020.

The acquisition of Nextbike is the latest significant move this year for TIER. Currently, the company operates in more than 160 cities across 16 countries in Europe and the Middle East with recent market expansions in Hungary, the Netherlands, and Bahrain. 

The major investment in bikeshare follows TIER committing heavily to e-bikes in recent months with launches in London and Stockholm as part of an expansion of its e-bike service across six countries. 

In October, TIER raised $200M in its Series D round at a valuation of $2B. As of now, the company has raised a total of $660M in equity and debt capital.