According to reports, people familiar with the matter disclosed that Uber is considering acquiring Free Now , a car-hailing company jointly established by Daimler and BMW , to increase market share in Europe and Latin America.
People familiar with the matter said that Uber expressed interest in the acquisition when Free Now was unable to attract more investors due to the new crown epidemic. As the online car-hailing market faces various challenges, pricing is very difficult, so related transactions will also be very complicated.
People familiar with the matter said that there is currently no guarantee that the two parties will reach a deal, and there may be other bidders. Spokespersons for Uber and BMW declined to comment, while spokespersons for Daimler said they would not respond to speculation.
Uber’s stock price has risen by 20% this year.
Daimler and BMW merged their travel businesses last year to form a joint venture, Your Now, which has five services including Free Now online car-hailing. Free Now used to operate as MyTaxi, and later integrated car-hailing applications such as Kapten in France, Beat in Greece and Clever Taxi in Romania.
As of June, Daimler valued its half of Your Now equity at 618 million euros ($720 million). The joint venture’s business also includes smaller businesses such as parking service Park Now and car sharing platform Share Now.
Daimler and BMW intend to sell Free Now, indicating that they want to focus on using their core automotive business to generate cash and improve efficiency. Other automakers are also shrinking travel services. General Motors closed the Maven car-sharing business earlier this year, and Ford also terminated Chariot on-demand bus services in 2019.
Whether it is for technology companies or automakers, making use of travel services to make money is quite a challenge. Traffic regulations in different regions vary greatly, making it difficult to scale up before the outbreak of the new crown epidemic.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Free Now’s total revenue is expected to grow from 2.5 billion euros next year to 8 billion euros ($9.3 billion) in 2022. However, this growth expectation was severely affected by the epidemic, and Free Now was forced to lay off employees in April.
Headquartered in San Francisco, Uber provides online ride-hailing, food delivery, and delivery services through mobile apps. Its business scope covers 10,000 cities in 70 countries or regions around the world. Its total revenue last year was US$14.1 billion.
For more such interesting article like this, app/softwares, games, Gadget Reviews, comparisons, troubleshooting guides, listicles, and tips & tricks related to Windows, Android, iOS, and macOS, follow us on Google News, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest.