PORTLAND, Ore. -- The company that owns Portland's bicycle share program has been sold.
Motivate, which oversees Biketown and other bike share programs including New York's CitiBike, was, as expected, sold to Lyft. The deal had been rumored for the last several weeks.
Portland's popular program is sponsored by Nike Inc. Motivate had said in June it planned to expand Biketown's boundaries and adjust pricing downward.
The news was announced through the company's blog.
“Lyft and Motivate have both been committed for years to the same goal of reducing the need for personal car ownership by providing reliable and affordable ways to move around our cities,” said John Zimmer, Lyft co-founder and president. “Bringing together Lyft and Motivate will accelerate our collaboration with cities and deliver even better experiences to our passengers and riders.”
Along with New York and Portland, Motivate operates as Ford GoBike.
As part of this agreement, Lyft is buying Motivate’s technology and corporate functions, including its city contracts. Chicago, Portland, Boston and Washington, D.C., are among the other major metropolitan areas in which Motivate operates.
While the blog post did not mention a price, the acquisition was reportedly valued at about $250 million.
Anthony Noto of the New York Business Journal contributed to this story.