Lyft to buy taxi app FreeNow for $200 million to expand into Europe

Lyft logo is seen in this illustration taken June 27, 2022. The app is available in over 150 cities across nine countries, including Ireland, the U.K., Germany and France. Beyond traditional taxi and ride-hailing services, FreeNow also offers other mobility options including e-scooters, e-mopeds and e-bikes. Founded in 2009 as myTaxi, FreeNow is a ride-hailing platform headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. The company has been jointly owned by German automotive giants BMW and Mercedes-Benz since 2019. The company said that the acquisition — Lyft's first in Europe — is expected to close in the second half of 2025, and that, once combined, the two companies will serve over 50 million combined annual users. U.S. ride-hailing firm Lyft on Wednesday announced that it's buying European taxi app FreeNow in a 175 million euro ($199 million) deal. The startup is earnings-positive on the basis of Earnings Before Interest, Debt and Amortization, generating gross bookings over 1 billion euros in ... Read full article.