Electric scooters: Tier and Dott push ahead with merger

Electric kick scooter rental companies Tier Mobility and Dott want to merge. Both companies have signed a preliminary agreement on a merger. The planned joint venture will be based in Berlin.

Together, Tier Mobility and its much smaller competitor Dott, based in the Netherlands, aim to become the leading provider of shared micromobility in Europe. The combined business will be operating under the Tier and Dott brands. However, the merger is not yet a done deal. It is subject to several conditions and will only take effect once these have been fulfilled and completed. The companies believe that the deal will be finalised “within 2 months.”

The transaction is backed by a mix of existing investors from Tier and Dott, who have pledged to invest 60 million euros in the new joint venture. The investors mentioned are Mubadala Capital, Sofina, Estari, M&G, Prosus Ventures, Novator and White Star Capital. Together, they generate a turnover of 250 million euros and enable more than 125 million journeys per year in over 20 countries, both sides emphasise. And “with operations in major global cities including Berlin, Brussels, Dubai, Helsinki, London, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Tel Aviv and Warsaw, the business will be well positioned to be profitable and support the transition to more sustainable transport.”

According to German Handelsblatt, the move is born out of necessity, as Tier struggels with a drastically declining company value due to missed targets last year. Previous talks with rivals Voi and Bolt did not lead to a deal. In the US, electric kick scooter pioneer Bird recently went bankrupt, as the industry is struggling with consumer restraint, fierce competition, high operating costs and increasing regulation.

The merged company of Tier and Dott will be based in Berlin and “benefit from the experience of the founders and leadership from Tier and Dott,” the companies write. Tier CEO Lawrence Leuschner will become Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Dott CEO Henri Moissinac will act as Chief Executive Officer of the future company. Maxim Romain (Dott) is set to become Chief Operating Officer and Alex Gayer (Tier) Chief Financial Officer.

“I am delighted to join forces with Dott, further strengthening our position as the European micro-mobility champion and marking the next phase in the development of the industry,” says Lawrence Leuschner, Co-Founder and CEO of Tier. “We are united by a shared vision of cities with more sustainable transport options and fewer cars, and we are committed to helping users and cities make this a reality. With an expanded footprint and combined expertise, I look forward to providing a record number of rides in 2024.”

“We are very optimistic about the future of shared micromobility. Cities are adapting to reduce car dependency, and encouraging people to make sustainable transport choices,” adds Henri Moissinac, Co-Founder and CEO of Dott. “We have built a service that users love, operated in a responsible way. By bringing Tier and Dott together, we are well-positioned to capture the next phase of growth and further accelerate our path to profitability. We are creating the European champion that will provide the best experience to our users, carefully integrated into the cities we operate in.”

tier.app, ridedott.com, handelsblatt.com (in German)