Will Bird Be The Word For Investors And Micromobility? What To Know About The Scooter SPAC Deal

A leading electric micromobility company announced a SPAC deal Wednesday with plans to expand to more cities and new segments.

The SPAC Deal: Bird announced a deal with Switchback II Corporation SWBK valuing the company at $2.3 billion.

Current Switchback II Corporation shareholders will own 10.8% of the company after the SPAC merger.

About Bird: Bike is a leader in the shared short-range electric transportation market. The company was founded in 2017, introducing the first-ever shared scooter.

Bird operates in 200 cities, according to a press release. The company has had more than 95 million rides from customers from inception to now.

The company has hardware and software technology including BirdOS, rider apps, fleet manager apps and city apps.

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Growth Ahead: Bird lists an annual market opportunity of $800 billion. Sixty percent of all trips taken by people globally are five miles or less.

Bird gained more than 3 million riders since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, an event that increased the company’s growth and visibility.

Another growing segment for the company is its shift to a fleet manager model, which reduces costs. Under the new model, 75% of markets generated positive ride profit in the first half of fiscal 2020.

Bird launched its latest scooter in March 2021 with the Bird Three. New plans call for the Bird Bike to be released in the future, bringing Bike into a $20 billion market that could help with growth and expanding to additional territories.

The company’s presentation lists 65% of growth coming from further penetrating existing regions, 20% from expanding to new regions and 15% from new form factors.

Financials: Bird had revenue of $95 million in fiscal 2020. The company’s gross transaction value fell 29% year-over-year to $116 million in fiscal 2020. Eighteen million rides were recorded by the company.

Bird is guiding for 37 million rides and $188 million in revenue for fiscal 2021. The company sees gross transaction value increasing 89% year-over-year to $219 million in fiscal 2021.

The company guides financials out to fiscal 2023 with an estimate of $815 million in revenue for that fiscal year.

Price Action: Shares of Switchback II Corporation trade around $9.99.