The Lyft driving giant said he has agreed to acquire Freenow, a German multi-mobility application with Ride-Hail at its core, BMW and Mercedes-Benz Mobility for about $ 197 million in cash.
The acquisition opens the European market for the first time in Lyft. The company has operated only in the US and Canada since it started in 2012, compared to Uber’s largest opponent, which operates worldwide.
Freenow operates in nine countries and over 150 cities throughout Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025.
Movement comes a few months after Freenow communal That its strategic focus on the taxi business resulted in the growth of 13%and that it hit the break-envenue.
Lyft has said the merger would double its total target market in more than 300 billion personal vehicles per year and increase the annual gross bookings by about $ 1,14 billion.
“We are on an ambitious course to build the best, more mobility platform that is obsessed with the customer in the world and entry into Europe is an important step in our journey to development,” said David Risher, Lyft’s chief executive, in a statement. “We found the perfect partner in Freenow and we can learn a lot from the team. The local first approach of Freenow reflects Lyft’s values and integrates our purpose-to serve and connect.”
In a statement this week, BMW and Mercedes-Benz Mobility have said they will continue to focus on their basic activities in addition to electricity, AI and collection.
Lyft said that there will be no immediate changes to Freenow’s customer experience, but “over time, new benefits will be made available to Freenow’s drivers and riders”. He said the two companies would focus on integration so that riders can use either the application when they are in North America or Europe.
