Chinese delivery giant Meituan Dianping acquires bikeshare company Mobike
Meituan Dianping, the Chinese food delivery giant, has acquired global bike-share company Mobike, in a deal reported to be worth $2.7bn.
Chinese bike sharing company Mobike has been acquired by Meituan
The deal will see Mobike, which is the world’s largest bike-share company, maintain its branding and operational independence, but will also become part of “an enhanced ecosystem of consumer services”.
The Mobike team will remain in place under chief executive officer Davis Wang, chief technology officer Joe Xia and president and founder Hu Weiwei. Meituan chief executive Wang Xing will serve as chairman.
Mobike chief executive Wang said in a statement: “Bringing bicycles back to cities is the heart and vision of Mobike, and the mission of Meituan is to 'eat better, live better'. Both companies promote a healthy and beautiful life supported by mobile technology. Going forward, Mobike and Meituan will continue to prioritise creating user value as the center of its business, and will continue to create a superior user experience."
Meituan chief executive Wang Xing said: “Mobike is a really original Chinese company, it's an exceptional brand with a rare sense of design and has enormous social value from boosting green travel and low carbon lifestyle. Mobike is not only the pioneer of smart bike-sharing, it has also successfully exported this Chinese innovation internationally.
“Meituan is optimistic about the development of Mobike and the future of smart mobility, and will fully support Mobike's continued pursuit of technological innovation, and dedication to bringing high-quality products and everyday services to users," said Xing.
Meituan, which is estimated to be worth $30bn, claims to be the world’s largest e-commerce platform for local services. It is described as a combination of Deliveroo, Yelp and Groupon.
Meituan’s biggest rival Ele.me was this week fully acquired by Alibaba in a bid by the e-commerce giant to enhance its local services.
Mobike launched in China in 2016 and has executed an ambitious global expansion with bicycles in the UK, Australia, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea.