OjO Electric (OJO.V) has entered into an agreement to acquire Gotcha Mobility, an e-mobility company operating in the transportation solutions sphere.
Shortly after the acquisition, OjO will change its name to Last Mile Holdings and go by the ticker MILE. The acquisition will place MILE as the third largest micro-mobility company by location in North America.
“We did extensive homework to find the right partner to expand our presence while joining our mission to change rideshare for good. The exclusive nature of Gotcha’s expansive portfolio of long-term contracts is particularly attractive. The markets where we have experienced the best unit economics are those that have taken the approach of limiting permits to a handful of operators, as compared to those where scooter deployments have been more of a free-for-all. Gotcha’s strong corporate culture and experienced team make the company a perfect match for Ojo,” said Max Smith, chief executive officer of Ojo.
The micro-mobility market deals with electric rideshare vehicles and pedal bikes. Think Car2Go. Think Uber but for electric scooters. It’s a market that BIS Research says is going to reach $31.93 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 11.95% by value, between 2019 and 2029.
Gotcha has been in the micro-mobility game for 10 years, having started with electric rideshare vehicles and pedal bikes before moving into into e-bikes, e-scooters, and e-trikes. Their principle focus was university and small to mid-size municipalities, and they’ve since secured approximately 20,000 permits, 80% of which are exclusive.
Highlights:
- The combined company unites two experienced, forward-thinking teams and equips Ojo with immediate access to Gotcha’s portfolio of exclusive, long-term contracts with 35 universities and 42 municipalities across the United States.
- Exponentially expands Ojo’s growth pipeline to a total of 80 locations — the largest micromobility footprint in North America after Lime and Bird — and planned base case operations totalling approximately 25,000 mobility units by year-end 2020.
- The acquisition provides a clear path to large-scale deployment of Ojo’s custom-engineered seated scooter, with best-in-class unit economics, while expanding Ojo’s product offerings to include pedal bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters and e-trikes.
Ojo’s plans after Gotcha
This acquisition is only the first step in their plan to consolidate the micro-mobility sector. The company plans on deploying another 25,000 mobility units across their 80 locations in the company’s rideshare and on-demand delivery businesses, and build the scale and partnership-oriented market approach to take a leadership role in the sector.
“Our shared visions and goals make this a great fit. We look forward to continued growth as we lead the microtransit industry together. Gotcha’s experience, suite of products and exclusive contract base — combined with the Ojo’s products and positive unit economics — will build a powerful team to grow together,” said Sean Flood, chief executive officer of Gotcha.
The acquisition will include a non-brokered private placement of 27.5 million subscription receipts at CAD$0.40, totaling $11 million, which will be held in escrow until the acquisition closes, and then convert to one limited voting share of the company, and one share purchase warrant, exercisable for three years at $0.60. The proceeds from the placement will be used to close the acquisition and go to general working capital.
—Joseph Morton