Earlier this week, Bird filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a Florida federal court, signaling its intention to sell strategic assets within 90 to 120 days.
The California-based shared micromobility company Bird – Silicon Valley’s fastest unicorn – achieved the $1B valuation status in less than a year. With the pandemic promoting green mobility, the right products for last mile transportation and disruptive CEO, the former unicorn flooded cities with its bikes and was well on its way to achieving the goal.
Fast forward to 2022, the company has had to let go of 23% of its workforce in June due to struggles to keep up with expenses. In 2022, the micromobility company said it had reportedly overstated revenue by recognising unpaid customer rides for over two years.
Now the company has entered into a “stalking horse” agreement with the Company’s existing lenders. Bird’s bankruptcy proceedings come after the New York Stock Exchange delisted the company in September. Bird failed to comply with the exchange’s requirements after it was unable to keep its market capitalization above $15 million for 30 consecutive days.
Bird Canada and Bird Europe (dba as “Bird Rides Europe B.V.”) are not part of the filing and also continue to operate as normal. Further, Bird has filed with the Court a series of customary “First Day Motions” to facilitate a smooth transition into bankruptcy.
These filings provide for payment of wages and benefits to employees, and make other provisions to enable Bird to continue operating as usual. Bird expects the Court to approve these requests in short order, which are expected to minimise the impact of the restructuring process on its city partners, riders, employees and other key stakeholders. If you would like to read in-depth on how this happened, check out this article.
