CDPQ invests US $50M in Bird Rides

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By CPE News

CPE Media News (10/3/2019) – Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has invested US $50 million in Bird Rides, Inc.

The investment is part of Bird’s Series D led by Sequoia Capital, reportedly to be in the range of US $200-300 million at a valuation of US $2.5 billion.

Santa Monica, California based Bird Rides operates shared electric scooters in over 100 cities globally.

Bird has previously raised US $418 million in funding.

photo credit: Bird Rides

News Release

CDPQ enters sustainable micromobility market with US 50M$ investment in Bird

PRIVATE EQUITY
MONTRÉAL, OCTOBER 3, 2019

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (“CDPQ”) is announcing an equity investment of US$50 million in Bird Rides, Inc. (Bird), the global leader in sustainable micromobility.

Bird operates shared electric scooters in over 100 cities globally, offering an increasingly popular clean mobility option for short urban rides. After less than three years of existance, Bird has already established itself as a key shared transportation option for commuters in major cities across the globe.

“Bird fits directly within our strategy to invest in innovative and disruptive tech sectors such as sustainable mobility” said Jeffrey R Smith, Senior Managing Director, Digital Investment Strategy, CDPQ. “This new partnership also supports our commitment to take part in the transition toward a less carbon-intensive global economy. We look forward to continue building a business which provides micromobility solutions in cities around the world.”

“Instead of spending to grow the company at any cost, our focus is to improve the revenue generated by each single Bird electric scooter” said Travis VanderZanden, CEO and founder of Bird. “Now with the best unit economics in the industry, new Bird investors such as CDPQ see that we are paving the road for a long-term sustainable and healthy business.”

ABOUT CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at June 30, 2019, it held CA$326.7 billion in net assets. As one of Canada’s leading institutional fund managers, CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. For more information, visit cdpq.com, follow us on Twitter @LaCDPQ or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.

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CESALTINE GREGORIO
Senior Advisory Director, Global Media Relations
CDPQ
+1 212 596 6314
cgregorio@cdpq.com
MAXIME CHAGNON
Senior Director, Media Relations
CDPQ
+1 514 847 5493
mchagnon@cdpq.com