The Lyft logo is seen in these illustration tasks on June 27, 2022.
Given ruvic | Reuters
Transport signature Lyft On Wednesday, he announced that he is buying a free European taxi application now in an agreement of 175 million euros ($ 199 million).
The company said that the acquisition, the first of Lyft in Europe, closes in the second half of 2025, and that, once combined, the two companions will serve 50 million users combined annually.
Founded in 2009 as Mytaxi, Free Now is a Hamburg -based transport platform, Germany. The company has been a joint property of German automotive giants BMW and Mercedes-Benz since 2019.
The application is available in 150 cities in nine countries, including Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany and France. Beyond the traditional services of taxis and travel transport, free now also offers other mobility options that include e-scooters, electronic timbres and electronic bicycles.
Free has now been jointly owned by the German automotive giants BMW and Mercedes-Benz since 2016.
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The startup is positive for profits based on profits before interest, debt and amortization, generating gross reserves of more than one billion euros in 2024, according to an informative sheet of the company.
Acquire free now will give Lyft a route to expand to the highly competitive European transport market, where you will face the tastes of SuperEstonias Bolt and Israel’s Gett.
The closest domestic rival of Lyft, Uber, has a legal advantage in the company, which was first launched in the United Kingdom in 2012. Since then, it has been harassed by a series of regulatory problems.
London transport regulators tried to prohibit Uber twice about security concerns. The company received a new license to continue operating in the city in 2022.