Estonia's Tuul sells scooter rental business to Latvian company
Estonian electric scooter operator Tuul has sold its hardware and intellectual property to the Latvian company Ride and is shutting down its rental service.
Tuul Mobility OÜ, founded in 2020, had been running at a loss for years. The parties are not disclosing the terms of the deal.
Tuul announced to the Nasdaq Tallinn stock exchange that, considering recent financial results and the market situation, it has decided to end its shared scooter operations and sold the assets to Ride, which will continue offering the service.
"Tuul was born out of the desire to make scooter production more sustainable and urban transport more convenient," said Tuul CEO Siim Tempel.
"Over the course of five years, Tuul has been used by hundreds of thousands of people, who have traveled more than 15 million kilometers on them," he continued. "We are glad that Ride will continue offering the scooters developed and manufactured by Estonians, ensuring a smooth transition for customers as well as continued availability of the scooters."
Tuul plans to continue fulfilling its bond-related obligations with the money received from the deal, in cooperation with its parent company Comodule.
The Latvian company Ride Mobility, which took over Tuul's scooter business, began offering a moped rental service in Tallinn this spring.
Tuul Mobility's turnover decreased last year, while its loss grew to €904,000, according to the company's interim report this spring. As a result, Tuul's management considered strategic alternatives and did not rule out the sale of the company.
Tuul Mobility was registered in Estonia's Business Register in December 2021, engaged primarily in electric scooter rental and sharing services.
Last year, the company offered scooter rental services in Tallinn and Riga, with similar plans for this year as well.
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Editor: Mirjam Mäekivi, Aili Vahtla
