- Expands Swvl's global footprint to 146 cities across 21
countries in 5 continents with contracts with over 490 corporate
and institutional customers, to service daily bus journeys
for frontline shift-workers, professional office commuters and
students
- Offers compelling financial benefits with profitable
operations
- Provides immediate entry into two strategic developed
markets, South Africa and the
USA and builds on recent
acquisitions of Shotl, and Viapool, and announced acquisitions of
Volt Lines and door2door, focused on accelerating Swvl's expansion
across established and new markets
- Swvl and Zeelo share a mission to modernize the way people
move by bringing a shared mobility tech solution to mass transport
that unlocks economic opportunities and reduces emissions, offering
everyday commuters a faster, safer, more affordable and greener
mass transit solution
NEW
YORK, April 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Swvl
Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: SWVL), a global provider of
transformative tech-enabled mass transit solutions, today announced
a definitive agreement to acquire Zeelo, the UK's largest
smart bus platform and technology scale-up, measured by bookings.
Joining forces with Zeelo builds upon Swvl's recent
successful acquisitions of Viapool and Shotl, and announced
acquisitions of Volt Lines and door2door, and provides a launchpad
to rapidly land and expand business operations in three strategic
developed markets including the UK, South
Africa and the US with Zeelo's seasoned team of over
160 staff across the globe, including 29 software engineers based
out of Zeelo's R&D hub in Barcelona.
In alignment with Swvl's mission, Zeelo has a
well-recognized commitment to driving the shift from
single-occupancy vehicles to zero-emission mass transit and
deploying transportation services to connect more people to work
and educational opportunities. The acquisition is expected to be
completed in May 2022.
Mostafa Kandil, Swvl Founder
and CEO, said, "Swvl was founded on the belief that accessible
transportation is essential to unlocking economic opportunity. Swvl
and Zeelo share a vision and mission to provide reliable
transportation that gets riders where they need to go in an
affordable, safe, and environmentally-friendly manner. With an
impressive suite of turnkey TaaS and SaaS solutions and an
established footprint in the United
Kingdom, South Africa, and
the United States, Zeelo rapidly
advances our leading market position as a provider of
technology-enabled mass transit solutions on a global scale."
Transaction Highlightsi:
The transaction provides Swvl enhanced scale, strengthens its
capabilities and creates substantial value for shareholders:
- Drives continued global expansion: Deepens penetration
in the attractive UK market and provides an entry point into the US
and South Africa
- Offers a complementary suite of B2B mobility solutions with
proven ability to reduce overall costs for organizations:
-
- Leading fully managed TaaS platform connects riders via their
employers and schools to operators and drivers
- SaaS licensing platform enables third party fleet operators to
manage own programs
- Asset light-delivery model by partnering with existing fleet
partners, including over 200 bus operators in the UK and the
US
- Provides access to a blue-chip enterprise customer
base:
-
- Contracts established with major employers and schools across
>100 sites
- Proven track record of expanding customer deployments with
multi-site customers already in place
Sam Ryan, Zeelo Founder and
CEO, said, "Swvl is revolutionizing the mass transit
industry and we are thrilled to join forces with them on this next
phase of Zeelo's journey to firmly establish smart bus transport as
the best-in-class shared mobility solution that takes account of
all income levels and the needs of ordinary, every-day travelers.
Bus transport done well with tech can take us beyond our dependency
on cars and taxis which are not suitable for commutes from
non-urban areas. We look forward to bringing Swvl insights from
Zeelo's strategic pivot during the global pandemic and we've been
impressed by Swvl's fast growth in challenging markets. We are
excited to leverage their global experience as we embark on a
shared journey to develop safe, affordable, and low emission mass
transportation options, and expand economic opportunity for the
people who need it most through our mobility solution. Especially
shift workers, professionals and students living in transport-poor
areas in the developed markets."
Youssef Salem, Swvl CFO,
said, "The acquisition of Zeelo offers Swvl a superb entry point
into the US and South Africa,
extends our position in the UK, and provides a complementary
suite of new mobility products. Combined with our past acquisitions
and announced acquisitions, today's announcement further
demonstrates our ability to utilize our growth capital and public
currency to pursue organic and inorganic strategic initiatives. We
look forward to capitalizing on the numerous opportunities provided
by this transaction to advance our market position as a provider of
technology-enabled mass transit solutions on a global scale."
Zeelo is an asset-light technology company that modernizes daily
bus commutes to serve the needs of frontline workers and students
through B2B contracts with organizations and family-run bus
operator networks. Zeelo's system is used by large businesses,
staffing agencies, independent schools and universities across the
UK, South Africa and the US that
need to provide a private travel solution to people living in areas
with poor transport links. Its services model includes a driving
accreditation school, contracted fleets, and proprietary technology
including a SaaS platform and multiple customer apps, which
leverage smart GPS route optimization and ride-sharing
software.
About Swvl
Swvl is a global provider of transformative tech-enabled mass
transit solutions, offering intercity, intracity, B2B and B2G
transportation across more than 115 cities across 20 countries and
four continents. The Company's platform provides complimentary
semi-private alternatives to public transportation for individuals
who cannot access or afford private options. Every day, Swvl's
parallel mass transit systems are empowering individuals to go
where they want, when they want – making mobility safer, more
efficient, accessible, and environmentally friendly. Customers can
book their rides on an easy-to-use proprietary app with varied
payment options and 24 / 7 access to high-quality private buses and
vans.
Swvl was co-founded by Mostafa
Kandil, who launched Carmudi in the Philippines, which became the largest car
classifieds platform in the country in just six months. He then
served as Rocket Internet's Head of Operations. In 2016, Kandil
joined Careem, a ride-sharing company and the first unicorn in the
Middle East, where he launched
services in multiple new markets.
For additional information about Swvl, please visit
www.swvl.com.
About Zeelo
Zeelo is a smart bus platform for organizations. The global tech
company is modernizing daily bus commutes for frontline workers and
students so that they can get to work and school in a faster,
smarter, and much greener way. Zeelo serves large businesses and
independent schools and moves nearly 150,000 riders each month
across the world. Zeelo's tech-optimized bus routes not only reduce
carbon emissions by 78% by replacing 30 cars for every bus journey,
but also offset 100% of each Zeelo bus journey. Its innovative
transport management software system comprises a SaaS platform,
proprietary routing algorithms, multiple consumer apps, which
leverage smart GPS route optimization and ride-sharing software,
and 24 / 7 customer service support that ensure people located in
transport deserts have a regular, subsidized and sustainable bus
service for their daily commute, wherever they are based (4.8 / 5
Trustpilot rating). Headquartered in London with over 160 employees, an R&D
team in Spain and live operations
in the UK, South Africa and the
US, Zeelo was founded in 2016 by Sam
Ryan, Barney Williams and
Dani Ruiz. It closed its Series A in
2018 and has achieved almost US$ 20m
in VC-backed investment from ETF Partners, InMotion Ventures and
Dynamo. The co-founders previously sold their pioneering
ride-sharing app JumpIn to Addison
Lee in 2014.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements made herein are not historical facts but are
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally
are accompanied by words such as "believe," "may," "will,"
"estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "should,"
"would," "plan," "predict," "potential," "seem," "seek," "future,"
"outlook" and similar expressions that predict or indicate future
events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters.
These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements regarding future events and other statements that are
not historical facts.
These statements are based on the current expectations of Swvl's
management and are not predictions of actual performance. These
forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes
only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on,
by any investor as a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a
definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and
circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will
differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are
beyond the control of Swvl. These statements are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties regarding Swvl's business, and
actual results may differ materially. These risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to: general economic, political and
business conditions, including but not limited to the economic and
operational disruptions and other effects of the COVID-19 pandemic;
the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against
the parties following the consummation of the business combination;
failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the business
combination; the risk that the business combination disrupts
current plans and operations as a result of the consummation of the
business combination; the ability of the combined company to
execute its growth strategy, manage growth profitably and retain
its key employees; competition with other companies in the mobility
industry; Swvl's limited operating history and lack of experience
as a public company; recent implementation of certain policies and
procedures to ensure compliance with applicable laws and
regulations, including with respect to anti-bribery,
anti-corruption, and cyber protection; the risk that Swvl is not
able to execute its growth plan, which depends on rapid,
international expansion; the risk that Swvl is unable to attract
and retain consumers and qualified drivers and other high quality
personnel; the risk that Swvl is unable to protect and enforce its
intellectual property rights; the risk that Swvl is unable to
determine rider demand to develop new offerings on its platform;
the difficulty of obtaining required registrations, licenses,
permits or approvals in jurisdictions in which Swvl currently
operates or may in the future operate; the fact that Swvl currently
operates in and intends to expand into jurisdictions that are, or
have been, characterized by political instability, may have
inadequate or limited regulatory and legal frameworks and may have
limited, if any, treaties or other arrangements in place to protect
foreign investment or involvement; the risk that Swvl's drivers
could be classified as employees, workers or quasi-employees in the
jurisdictions they operate; the fact that Swvl has operations in
countries known to experience high levels of corruption and is
subject to territorial anti-corruption laws in these jurisdictions;
the ability of Swvl to maintain the listing of its securities on
Nasdaq; costs related to the business combination; Swvl's
acquisitions of controlling interests in Shotl Transportation,
S.L., Viapool Inc. and door2doorGmbH may not be beneficial to Swvl
as a result of the cost of integrating geographically disparate
operations and the diversion of management's attention from its
existing business, among other things; and other risks that will be
detailed from time to time in filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission. The foregoing list of risk factors is not
exhaustive. There may be additional risks that Swvl presently does
not know or that Swvl currently believes are immaterial that could
also cause actual results to differ from those contained in
forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements
provide Swvl's expectations, plans or forecasts of future events
and views as of the date of this communication. Swvl anticipates
that subsequent events and developments will cause Swvl's
assessments and projections to change. However, while Swvl may
elect to update these forward-looking statements in the future,
Swvl specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These
forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as
representing Swvl's assessments as of any date subsequent to the
date of this communication. Accordingly, undue reliance should not
be placed upon the forward-looking statements.
Media Contacts
Swvl:
Daniel Yunger
Kekst CNC
kekst-swvl@kekstcnc.com
917-574-8582
Zeelo, a Swvl company:
Sonia
Afzal
Head of Communications
sonia@zeelo.co
+44 (0) 7950 46 77 73
Investor Contact
Youssef
Salem
Swvl CFO
Investor.relations@swvl.com
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SOURCE Swvl Holdings Corp