Bird Reportedly Planning to Go Public and Aims to Reach Profitability in 2023
Choosing the route of an SPAC over an IPO.
Electric scooter company Bird Rides is reportedly planning to go public through a SPAC.
According to a new report from TechCrunch, the micromobility firm is planning on merging with a Dallas-based blank-check company named Switchback II Corporation, formed back in 2019 and headed by Scott McNeill and Jim Mutrie, both former executives at oil and gas driller RSP Permian.
It’s not the first time this year that a micromobility company has chosen to go public via a SPAC over an initial public offering. Earlier this year, Helbiz also went public through a merger with GreenVision Acquisition Corp.
Plans of Bird going public come after a turbulent year for the company, which was valued at $2.85 billion USD at the beginning of 2020 but faced a revenue drop of a whopping $95 million USD throughout the year, marking a 37 percent decrease. The decline in performance led to 406 employees getting laid off, equivalent to roughly 30 percent of its entire workforce.
Elsewhere in the tech industry, Facebook is now encouraging users to read articles before sharing them.
