Corporate Development Spotlight

Spotlight Q&A:

Jeremy – Thanks for joining us for this issue of Corporate Development Spotlight! Can you provide a quick flyover of Bird, your corporate development team, and the approach to M&A?

Bird is an electric vehicle company dedicated to bringing affordable, environmentally friendly transportation solutions such as e-scooters and e-bikes to communities across the world. Travis VanderZanden founded Bird in 2017 and today Bird provides fleets of shared micro-electric vehicles to riders in more than 450 cities globally. Bird partners closely with the cities in which it operates to provide a reliable and affordable transportation option for people who live and work there.

We see terrific opportunity to add to Bird’s global scale and strong organic growth profile with complementary transactions of other shared micromobility operators. There is also opportunity to enhance our customer value proposition and operating model with strategic transactions across the micromobility value chain more broadly.

How have recent events affected your business and/or your current approach to M&A?

Capital market conditions have certainly been challenging for tech and tech-enabled businesses, who until recently enjoyed full and sometimes frothy valuations. The shared micromobility industry is crowded and extremely competitive thanks to a tremendous amount of invested capital since the dawn of the industry in 2017. We think we can take advantage of this industry landscape and sub-optimal capital market conditions as the only public shared micromobility operator of scale. Sub-scale operators may find it difficult to find amenable financing alternatives to get them through this period of uncertainty.

Can you tell us about why you joined Bird, and elaborate on your career progressions; things you learned along the way to help you become successful where you are today?

In short, I felt that joining Bird would allow me to maximize my professional and personal growth. Bird is a mission-driven category creator operating a complex business in a nascent and competitive industry. This may seem like a mouthful, but to me it helps describe the privilege I have of working in a fast-paced and rich learning environment with a flock (pun-intended) of hungry, humble, and smart colleagues.

The biggest lesson I have learned throughout my short career is the benefit of having a persistent and humble curiosity. Having only worked in Corporate Development with complex businesses, being persistently curious has helped me “get up the curve” quickly and has allowed me to compound my learnings and build confidence over time. Though it has not been always easy, keeping that confidence in check and maintaining a sense of humility (which can be disarming) allows me to create stronger relationships with colleagues and counterparties.

What’s the biggest challenge you face as a Corporate Development professional?

Since I am quite new to my current role, the biggest challenge I am currently facing is getting up the curve on our business (operations, strategy, etc.). I am lucky to be a part of amazing team of Corporate Development professionals who are helping me out in this regard.

Ask me in 6 months and I hope I will have a more thoughtful answer!

What is the most rewarding aspect of your career in Corporate Development?

Two things. First there is no better feeling than earning a tangible team win. Being in the trenches and experiencing that journey together, to a successful end, is very satisfying. Because transaction closings do not happen every day, the second part of my answer (and apologies in advance for the cheesy answer) would be the opportunity for continuous learning. Most Corporate Development professionals would agree that the next problem looks different than the last, and I find the day-to-day learning opportunity that comes with that to be rewarding.

Predictions for the next 12 months in corporate M&A:

Is this the trap question that readers use to determine if I know what I am talking about? The irony here is that we spend an inordinate amount of time forecasting the financial performance of target (and our own) businesses and I am telling you I have no crystal ball.

My very consensus and risk-averse answer (which only proves that I listen to Bloomberg Radio) is that we will need more certainty on the persistence and level of inflation (and the path of interest rate increases) for capital markets conditions to improve. For the time being (the next 6 months?) I expect deal makers will continue to act with more prudence than they were this time last year.

Most memorable M&A story/experience at Bird can be most successful, funny, best learning experience etc:

The first M&A transaction I ever worked on was the acquisition of the rights to the Teletubbies (yes, that is right) from the BBC by DHX Media Ltd. (now WildBrain Ltd.). I was an intern at DHX Media for four months and we simultaneously signed and closed the transaction two weeks after I started. It was a scary but rewarding introduction to the world of M&A!

About Lion Equity Partners:

Lion Equity is a Denver-based private equity firm founded with the core purpose of helping companies meet strategic divestiture objectives. The Partners of Lion Equity have significant experience acquiring corporate divestitures and the overall M&A process.

Why do corporations divest non-core divisions to Lion Equity:

• Proven track record of executing complex carve-outs from sellers, including Bed Bath & Beyond, Siemens, Pitney Bowes, Sodexo, The Washington Post and others;
• Demonstrated ability to execute time-sensitive carve-outs requiring speed and certainty of closure;
• Committed to flexible structures that meet seller’s divestiture objectives;
• Dedicated to seamless transition through a unique understanding of the specific issues involved both during due diligence and post-closing working with Seller, employees, customers and suppliers.

To discuss a corporate carve-out transaction, please contact: