Uber fails to downplay Bird and Lime acquisition reports at IGNITION

Rachel
Holt, Uber’s head of new mobility, and Ryan Rzepecki, the founder
of Jump Bikes.
Jin S.
Lee

• Uber has done little to downplay reports it wants to
  buy electric scooter firms Bird or Lime.
• Speaking at Business Insider’s IGNITION conference,
  Uber exec Rachel Holt said the company is constantly approached
  by firms “wanting to partner with us, looking for
  acquisitions.”
• But Holt added that Uber is “really focused on building
  our own product right now” through Jump, the electric bike firm
  it acquired in April.

Uber has done little to downplay speculation that it is about to
swoop for one of the fast-growing Silicon Valley electric scooter
firms, Bird or Lime.

The Information and the Financial
Times reported over the weekend that Uber has held talks with
both companies, as it looks to expand its fleet of electric
scooters.

Uber launched its own scooters in Santa Monica, California, two
months ago through Jump, the electric bike company Uber acquired
in April for a reported $200 million.

Rachel Holt, Uber’s head of new mobility, was asked about a
potential Bird or Lime deal by Business Insider’s deputy
executive editor Cadie Thompson at the IGNITION conference in New
York on Monday.

Read more: Uber is reportedly holding talks
to buy electric scooter firms Bird and Lime

After initially saying that Uber would not comment on the
speculation, she added that the ride-hailing firm’s interest in
the space means that talk of acquisitions will be inevitable.

“Now that Uber is really, really devoted to being a major player
in the micro-mobility space, we’re getting approached constantly
by players on the global scene, wanting to partner with us,
looking for acquisitions,” Holt said. “My guess is that those
kind of rumours will continue and we’re still really focused on
building our own product right now.”

Buying Bird or Lime won’t come cheap. Bird is valued at $2 billion,
while Lime is thought to be worth around
half that. Bird’s CEO told the FT in a statement: “Bird is
not for sale.” Lime did not comment directly on Uber reports.

You can watch the IGNITION interview with Uber’s Rachel
Holt and Ryan Rzepecki, the founder of Jump Bikes,
here: