E-scooter sharing firm VOI raises $160 mln to expand

VNV Global AB (publ)

01/12/2020 23:01

STOCKHOLM, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Sweden's VOI Technology has
raised $160 million in a funding round led by The Raine Group's
growth equity vehicle to help it fuel expansion, it said on
Wednesday.
    The company was initially hit by lockdowns as the COVID-19
pandemic broke out, but has over the past months seen demand
picking up as people avoid trains and buses to be able to
socially distance.
    VNV Global  VNV.ST , Balderton, Creandum and top chiefs and
entrepreneurs at Delivery Hero  DHER.DE , Klarna, iZettle, Kry
and Amazon  AMZN.O  participated in the fresh round, VOI said in
a statement.
    "In connection to the funding, VOI has secured the
industry's first asset-backed debt facility at scale, which will
be directed towards scooters and e-bikes in 2021," it said,
adding it will invest in technology and growth in its markets.
    VOI, whose competitors include Tier, Lime and Bird, is on
track to reach an annual profit in 2021 and a lower loss this
year than the 770 million crowns ($90.8 million) reported in
2019, Chief Financial Officer Mathias Hermansson said.
    He added that the new funding would help VOI, which operates
in over 50 cities in 11 countries, to survive a widely
anticipated shake-out among e-scooter firms over the coming few
years.
    "This whole pandemic has moved forward the sector's
development several years in only a half year," Hermansson told
Reuters in an interview.
    He said the number of rides on VOI e-scooters had increased
by 85% in the September-November period versus a year ago,
despite a lower overall mobility in European cities.
    Hermansson, who said VOI was currently looking at expansion
mainly in Europe, declined to comment on the valuation of the
company. He said there were no concrete plans for a stock market
listing.
    The new funding takes the Swedish company's total funding to
$325 million since 2018 - the year it was founded - and to $190
million over the last four months. 


($1 = 8.4844 Swedish crowns)

 (Reporting by Helena Soderpalm; Editing by Simon Johnson)
 ((helena.soderpalm@thomsonreuters.com; +46 8 700 10 15; Reuters
Messaging: helena.soderpalm.reuters.com@reuters.net))