US micromobility company Bird has filed for bankruptcy

The company has commenced a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Bird is one of the leaders in environmentally friendly electric transportation, but has entered a financial restructuring process aimed at strengthening its balance sheet and better positioning the company for long-term, sustainable growth. Bird says it will operate as usual during this process, maintaining the same service for its riders and upholding its commitments to partner cities, fleet managers and employees.

“This announcement represents a significant milestone in Bird’s transformation, which began with the appointment of new leadership early this year,” said Bird interim CEO Michael Washinushi. “We are making progress towards profitability and aim to accelerate that progress by right-sizing our capital structure through this restructuring. We remain focused on our mission to make cities more livable by using micromobility to reduce car usage, traffic and carbon emissions.”

During and after the restructuring process, Washinushi will continue as interim CEO, supported by board chair John Bitove, president Stewart Lyons and CFO Joseph Prodan. Last month, Harvey Tepner joined the board of directors as an independent director, and Philip Evershed resigned from the board of directors.

The company’s lenders have also entered a restructuring support agreement (RSA). To implement the RSA, and access $25m in new debtor-in-possession financing from MidCap Financial, Bird has commenced the voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding.

Bird will use the court-supervised process to facilitate a sale of its assets, and has entered into a stalking horse agreement with the company’s existing lenders, which effectively sets a floor for Bird’s value. The bid is subject to higher and better offers, and is aimed at increasing value for all stakeholders. Bird expects to complete the sale process in the next three to four months.

Bird Canada and Bird Europe are not part of the filing and continue to operate as normal.

Since its inception, Bird riders have travelled over 480 million kilometres globally and played a pivotal role in hundreds of cities’ sustainability goals while making alternative transportation convenient, efficient and fun.

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 reduce the impact of the restructuring process on its city partners, riders, employees and other key stakeholders.

Bird (www.bird.co) is the largest micromobility operator in North America. The electric vehicle company aims to bring affordable, environmentally friendly transportation such as e-scooters and e-bikes to communities across the world. Bird and Spin’s cleaner, affordable and on-demand mobility is available in 350 cities, primarily across Canada, USA, Europe, Middle East and Australia. Bird and Spin (www.spin.app) partner closely with the cities in which they operate to provide a reliable and affordable transportation option for people who live and work there.