NEW YORK: Uber-backed Lime’s shares rose 4% in its Nasdaq debut on Wednesday, signalling robust investor confidence in the e-scooter and bike operator’s business model and valuing the company at about US$1.7bil.
Lime, founded in 2017, is based in San Francisco, and provides short-term rentals of electric bikes and scooters in more than 230 cities worldwide.
Shared e-bikes and scooters have gained popularity among commuters in densely populated cities, where their affordability and convenience have made them easy options for short trips.
Lime’s debut comes as new issuers enjoy renewed investor interest after volatility triggered by the Iran war prompted some companies to take a wait-and-see approach.
The US initial public offering (IPO) market has gathered pace in 2026, with a series of high-profile offerings, including SpaceX’s record-breaking US$75bil IPO, drawing investors back to new listings.
Lime chief executive officer Wayne Ting said the offering showed that there is demand for micromobility companies.
“The biggest growth opportunity for Lime has been growing in our existing market,” Ting said in an interview with Reuters.
“When we deploy more vehicles into a single city, we improve our density, and when we improve our density, it becomes a more reliable product, and that’s when people adopt and engage.
“The second definitely is new cities and new markets,” he added.
The company just launched a pilot programme in Mexico City in time for the FIFA World Cup.
Lime priced its IPO at US$25 apiece and shares jumped to US$27 on Wednesday morning before closing at around US$26.
The company and existing stockholders sold about seven million shares in the offering, generating roughly US$174mil in total.
“Pricing at the midpoint and opening above issue suggests there was sufficient investor demand to support the deal, but the reception looks measured rather than euphoric,” IPOX research associate Lukas Muehlbauer said.
Lime operates in an industry grappling with high operating costs and regulatory hurdles, and counts on its partnership with Uber for a significant chunk of its revenue.
Uber, the company’s biggest investor with a stake slightly north of 20%, offers Lime’s scooters as a transport option on its ride-hailing app. Ting worked at Uber before joining Lime.
“To keep the momentum, Lime needs to prove that it can grow through different seasons and market cycles without simply adding more vehicles and capital expenditure,” Muehlbauer added.
The company, which first floated ambitions to go public in 2021, is one of the few major micromobility companies to survive an industry shakeout that followed the Covid-19 pandemic.
Its valuation dropped from US$2.4bil in 2019 to about US$510mil in 2020, according to media reports at the time, as the pandemic triggered a sharp downturn in the industry. — Reuters
