Experience-hailing big Lyft mentioned it has agreed to amass FREENOW, a German multi-mobility app with ride-hail at its core, from BMW and Mercedes-Benz Mobility for about $197 million in money.
The acquisition opens up the European market to Lyft for the primary time. The corporate has solely operated within the U.S. and Canada because it launched in 2012, in comparison with its largest rival Uber, which operates globally.
FREENOW operates in 9 international locations and greater than 150 cities throughout Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Eire, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK. The transaction is anticipated to shut within the second half of 2025.
The transfer comes just a few months after FREENOW shared that its strategic deal with its taxi enterprise resulted in year-on-year progress of 13%, and that it was hitting break-even.
Lyft mentioned the merger would almost double its complete addressable market to greater than 300 billion private automobile journeys per yr, and improve annualized gross bookings by about $1.14 billion.
“We’re on an bold path to construct the very best, most customer-obsessed mobility platform on this planet, and coming into Europe is a vital step in our progress journey,” mentioned David Risher, CEO of Lyft, in a press release. “We discovered the proper associate in FREENOW and may study lots from the workforce. FREENOW’s local-first method mirrors Lyft’s values and embodies our goal — to serve and join.”
In a press release this week, BMW and Mercedes-Benz Mobility mentioned they might proceed to deal with their core operations along with electrification, AI and decarbonization.
Lyft mentioned there might be no instant adjustments to FREENOW’s buyer expertise, however that “over time, new advantages might be made accessible to FREENOW drivers and riders.” It mentioned the 2 corporations will deal with integration so riders can use both app once they’re in North America or Europe.