M&G takes stake in Tier Mobility in $200m funding round

M&G has taken a bet in electric mobility company  Tier Mobility as it continues a trend of investing in private companies with a sustainability profile. 

The asset manager, which invested in the company for the first time, participated in a $200m Series D funding round alongside existing shareholders, including SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Mubadala Capital. It did not disclose the exact amount invested.

M&G made the investment from its Catalyst strategy, which earlier this year announced it would be putting up to £5bn into privately-owned businesses working to create a more sustainable future. 

Earlier this year the fund house put $50m into Vaccitech, the start-up behind the Covid-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca and also ploughed £35m into DNA sequencing technology start-up Oxford Nanopore Technologies. Both have since listed in the US and London respectively.

M&G’s equity team also invested $35m (£25m) in Arbe Robotics, a Tel Aviv based firm that manufactures high-tech parts for automotive vehicles.

Tier, which is based im Berlin and was founded in 2018, aims to help cities move towards a zero-emission future by providing inhabitants with a range of electric vehicles.  

The company has so far deployed 135,000 e-scooters, e-bikes and e-mopeds across 150 cities in 16 countries. In the UK, it is aiding Transport for London’s incorporation of e-scooters in boroughs across the capital.  

Lawrence Leuschner, TIER’s CEO and co-founder, said that the funding from M&G investments will provide TIER with the additional resources to fulfil its mission of helping cities reduce their dependence on cars and to move towards a zero-emissions future. 

 The business also has plans to use some of the investment to roll out an energy network which will see thousands of batteries charging stations installed in cities across Europe.  

Niranhan Sirdeshpande, director of M&G’s Catalyst Investment Team said that Tier will enable people  to make ‘more sustainable transport choices’ as we emerge from the pandemic.

 

 

 

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