Transport start-up Swvl, based in Dubai and Cairo, agreed to buy Barcelona-based Shotl, an Uber-like service for bus and van operators, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. Shotl, which offers services to municipalities, corporations, and educational institutions, will serve as Swvl's hub in Europe and more than double the company's geographic footprint, the source added. The source, who refused to be identified because the talks are not public yet, did not disclose the financial terms of the acquisition deal. The deal is the latest in the transport technology sector worldwide as companies look to add heft or raise money through public listings. In July, Swvl agreed to merge with blank check firm Queen's Gambit Growth Capital in a $1.5 billion deal, setting the stage for a Nasdaq listing in the fourth quarter of the current year. The company is currently operating in 10 cities across six countries and makes more than 3 million trips a month, a number it seeks to increase to 2 million a day by 2025. In Egypt, it has a network of 3,000 buses. Meanwhile, Shotl operates in 22 cities across 10 countries, including Brazil and Japan. Shotl serves people in thinly populated areas that often lack easy access to transport. The deal will see Swvl having an access to autonomous driving projects, primarily through Shotl's participation in a project led by the European Commission to demonstrate the impact of self-driving minibuses on the future public transport networks.
