Lyft acquires Gett UK operations for $55 million in European expansion push
Gett exits a long-profitable London business, returning capital to investors and refocusing on its Israeli operations.
Taxi platform Gett has agreed to sell its UK operations to Lyft for approximately $55 million, following regulatory approval from the British Competition Authority. Negotiations for the deal were first reported by Calcalist in January.
Most of the proceeds from the sale are expected to be distributed to shareholders as a dividend. The transaction was led by Gett chairman Ran Guron, who was appointed by the company’s current ownership group.
Last August, a consortium led by Leumi Partners, the real estate investment arm of Bank Leumi, acquired Gett for $188 million. The group also included Mizrahi Tefahot, The Phoenix, Meitav, the Australian Lieberman family, and the Klirmark fund.
The sellers in that transaction were the Russian-Swedish investment fund VNV, Len Blavatnik, and MCI Capital. The sale came a year after Pango agreed to acquire Gett for $175 million, a deal that was ultimately blocked by the Competition Authority due to concerns that Pango, Israel’s largest parking app, would control Gett, the country’s largest taxi app.
Gett’s UK operations span major cities, including London, but have been unprofitable for most of the past several years. Even before completing the acquisition, the new owners agreed that the UK activity should be sold, allowing the company to focus on its profitable Israeli operations.
Lyft, which operates in London in competition with Uber and Bolt, has been expanding its European footprint over the past year. Around a year ago, it also acquired Free Now’s operations in London.
Taking into account the proceeds from the sale and roughly $30 million in cash that remained on Gett’s balance sheet at the time of the acquisition, the company’s shareholders have already recouped about 40% of their initial investment.
Gett will now focus on its core market in Israel, where it plans to expand into adjacent, synergistic services. The company previously operated in Russia and the United States but has since exited both markets.
Its London business had long been profitable and held a significant share of the city’s black cab market.
