Electric scooter company Bird announced on Wednesday that it is in the process of merging with blank-check company Switchback II Corporation in an effort to go public. The deal is expected to cost the shared electric scooter mobility startup $2.3 billion.
In order to help fund the deal, Bird announced that it would be receiving up to $160 million in private investment funds from Fidelity Management & Research Co and other investors. In addition, the combined entity would receive $428 million from these investors upon formation.
Bird also revealed that it had received support from finance companies Apollo Investment Corp and MidCap Financial Trust, both of whom will grant Bird with access to $40 million in asset funding.
Founded in 2017, Bird operates shared electric scooter networks in over 200 cities, including 100 cities in Europe as well as cities across North America and the Middle East. The Santa Monica, California-based startup racked up 10 million rides in its first year of operation and is expected to be renamed Bird Global once it lists on the New York Stock Exchange during this fiscal quarter.
Switchback II Corp is a Cayman Islands exempted company that, in January of this year, went public in a $275 million initial public offering. This company uses the proceeds from its IPO in order to purchase private firms such as Bird and take them public.
