The US electric scooter company Bird, once the fastest startup to clinch a “unicorn” valuation of more than $1bn, has filed for bankruptcy.
Bird, which helped introduce scooter and bike rentals in cities across the world, went public just two years ago via a deal which valued it at about $2.3bn.
The Miami, Florida-based business announced its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the early hours of Wednesday morning, capping a turbulent year which already included its delisting from the New York Stock Exchange.
The group’s Canadian and European arms are not part of the process. Bird said they would continue to operate “as normal”.
Bird was founded in 2017 by the former Lyft and Uber executive Travis VanderZanden, and helped pioneer the on-street scooter rental sector. A string of copycat ventures followed. The business went public in 2021.
Its shares swiftly spiraled downward, amid heavy losses and questions about the economics of e-scooters. The company’s delisting from the stock exchange was confirmed in September, after its market value fell below $15m for 30 consecutive days. VanderZanden resigned as chairman “to pursue other ventures” in June.
Bird plans to sell its assets over the next four months. Its existing lenders have agreed to buy them, setting a floor price for the sale. Lenders including a division of Apollo Global Management have agreed to provide $25m in financing to support the group through the process.
“This announcement represents a significant milestone in Bird’s transformation, which began with the appointment of new leadership early this year,” said Michael Washinushi, interim CEO of Bird. “We are making progress toward profitability and aim to accelerate that progress by right-sizing our capital structure through this restructuring.
“We remain focused on our mission to make cities more livable by using micromobility to reduce car usage, traffic and carbon emissions.”
Bird reported net losses of $73.4m in the nine months to September 30, down from losses of $322.3m in the same period last year.
It bought Spin, a rival, for $19m in September. Collectively, the two companies are operating across 350 cities.
