SG Bike completes takeover of Mobike's bike-sharing licence

Bike-sharing operator SG Bike yesterday announced it has completed the takeover of Mobike's licence to run 25,000 bicycles in Singapore.

The deal, which was concluded at about a third of the valuation that the two firms initially agreed on, makes SG Bike the largest bike-sharing operator here.

All existing Mobike bicycles can now be unlocked using SG Bike's mobile application. Conversely, the Mobike app can no longer be used to unlock the bikes.

During the trial period, which started yesterday, SG Bike is offering free rides for trips under 30 minutes on Mobike-branded bicycles.

"This trial period will allow SG Bike to better manage the new resources and make any necessary adjustments to fine-tune its bike-sharing services," the local company said in a statement, adding that the trial will end at "a later date".

The bike-sharing firm operates 3,000 of its own bikes, mainly in Tampines, East Coast and Yishun.

Mobike has 18,000 bikes deployed around Singapore and 7,000 more in storage.

SG Bike told The Straits Times it will start deploying most of Mobike's stored bikes in Punggol, before expanding to the rest of the north-east region.

This will provide the area with a higher concentration of bicycles.

It also said prices will remain unchanged with the acquisition.

A weekly pass costs $3.90, while a 30-day ride pass costs $11.90.

Commenting on the acquisition, SG Bike's chief operating officer Sean Tay said: "Bicycles remain the most flexible transport mode and we believe this position will allow SG Bike to accelerate the adoption of shared bicycles."

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has approved a total fleet size of 45,000 shared bicycles in Singapore.

The other operators are Anywheel and Moov Technology, both of which have licences to operate 10,000 bicycles each.

SG Bike's takeover deal was first announced in August, with LTA giving it the green light a month later.

However, completion of the deal, which was initially scheduled for Sept 13, was delayed several times as the companies sought to tie up loose ends.

In an announcement to the Singapore Exchange on Monday, SG Bike's parent company ISOTeam said SG Bike will pay an initial sum of about $597,400 in the deal.

It could also pay up to about $214,000 more, depending on the condition of the 7,000 Mobike bicycles stored in a warehouse here.

The total sum of about $811,400 is less than a third of the $2.54 million that SG Bike and Mobike had initially agreed on.

The completion of the deal marks the end of an era for bike-sharing firms in Singapore.

At their peak, Mobike, ofo and oBike together deployed more than 100,000 shared bicycles here.

But an inability to come up with a sustainable business model, coupled with struggles in complying with regulations, led to all three firms leaving the market.