A banner for electric scooter rental company Bird is displayed outside of the Latest York Stock Exchange as the corporate goes public via a SPAC on Nov. 5, 2021.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
The electrical scooter company Bird, once valued at $2.5 billion by investors, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Florida federal court Wednesday.
The corporate has entered right into a “stalking horse” agreement, which sets a floor for Bird’s value, with its existing lenders, in accordance with a release. Bird said it would use the bankruptcy proceeding to facilitate a sale of its assets, which it expects to finish inside the following 90 to 120 days.
Bird’s electric scooters are touted as an environmentally friendly alternative to driving and other types of public transit. They exploded in popularity before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the corporate raised greater than $275 million in 2019, which pushed its valuation to $2.5 billion.
But after customers stopped riding as they were forced into lockdown in 2020, Bird struggled to recuperate. The corporate went public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company in 2021, but its share price tumbled.
Bird’s bankruptcy proceedings come after the Latest York Stock Exchange delisted the corporate in September. Bird didn’t comply with the exchange’s requirements after it was unable to maintain its market capitalization above $15 million for 30 consecutive days.
The corporate’s shares began trading on the over-the-counter exchange later that month. As of Wednesday, the stock was trading at lower than $1 per share.
Bird Canada and Bird Europe aren’t a part of the corporate’s Wednesday filing and can “proceed to operate as normal,” in accordance with the discharge.
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