00:00Uber-backed Lime raised $174 million in its public debut pricing right at the midpoint
00:05of an expected range. Joining us from the NASDAQ is Lime CEO Wayne Ting. Right now,
00:11I'm seeing shares indicated opening around 27, having priced at 25. But this is an IPO
00:17that Bloomberg is saying is about six times oversubscribed right now. You joined Lime
00:22from Uber in 2018. It's been a long journey. Just reflect on what this moment means to
00:29you. For sure. I think it's a huge day for Lime. And I think to see our business validated in
00:36this
00:36way is wonderful. We operate in 230 cities around the world, 29 countries, five continents. And we
00:44have built a differentiated business model. I think a lot of other companies have tried and not
00:49succeeded, but we have great unit economics. We're free cash flow positive. We continue to expand our
00:56EBITDA margins. And I feel like with this IPO, we'll have more capital to invest back into the city to
01:02bring Lime's very important service to more markets around the world. Wayne, you point out you're
01:07already in so many cities around the world. What then is the growth opportunity? Where can you go
01:12that you're not already in? The biggest growth opportunity is actually deepening in our existing
01:18markets. Because only in our existing markets do we have the reliability where people can use Lime
01:23every single day. So we oftentimes see the fastest growth rates in some of our biggest, most mature,
01:30quote-unquote mature markets. For example, like London last year grew faster than Lime as an overall
01:35company. So I think what you'll continue to see us is to deepen deployment into our existing markets.
01:41We also still have lots of cities around the world who can benefit from Lime that doesn't have Lime. So
01:47I
01:47grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. And I would have never expected Lime to work in Lincoln, Nebraska. But we have
01:52a
01:53great business there. During football games, during lots of major events, there are congestion, parking
01:58shortages. And Lime offers a great complement to their transportation system. And there are a lot of
02:04Lincoln, Nebraska's in this world that still can benefit from Lime. So I feel very bullish about
02:10future growth.
02:12When I came to San Francisco in 2018, scooters were the story. But it was so different.
02:18Scooters were everywhere. Bay Area residents were throwing them into the bay. The relationship with
02:24the city from a sort of permitting perspective was pretty fractious. And then COVID came and that
02:30really impacted the business. Does any of that still remain? How different are things now?
02:37The world is very different today than back in 2018. One, I think the value proposition of
02:44micromobility is more clear to cities. Urban transportation is broken in lots of major cities
02:50around the world. Congestion is a challenge. Affordability is a challenge. Pollution is a
02:55challenge. And the impact of climate change. And the incredible thing is Lime is a solution
03:01to every one of those transportation problems. So I think when we show up in a way that is obviously
03:07in support of the city's transportation goals, and we come with a commitment to compliance and safety
03:14and supporting the city's transportation goals, I think we've improved those relationships quite a bit.
03:21We are in hundreds of cities around the world. Most of those relationships are multiple years,
03:26and we feel very good about the future partnership with cities. You went public because you needed to.
03:33You needed the capital. So the balance sheet's kind of cleaned up now. But a story of this IPO moment
03:39is
03:39very quick return to the capital markets. So will you do that? Will you look at debt? How will you
03:45continue to fund that CapEx? I just want to challenge the idea that we have to. I think there's lots
03:51of
03:51different ways we could have dealt with any sort of debt maturity. The reason we're going public is
03:57because we think this is a great opportunity for new investors to come into Lime. We'll have great
04:03places to deploy that capital, and it'll be a very fantastic returns to the investors who are coming
04:08in during this IPO. That excitement for the future growth opportunity and the business prospects is why
04:15we're going public today. What about some M&A? Let's think a little bit about New York City,
04:19right? If you wanted to get deeper into cities like New York, would you look at other bike
04:24businesses? I think M&A is definitely one area we can look into now that we have public equity and
04:32more capital on the balance sheet. I would say our bar is very high because we get 50% plus
04:40cash margins
04:40on the average trip, less than one year payback on the bikes and scooters. Our competitors are nowhere
04:46near those margins and returns, and many of them have been donating share to us very kindly. I think
04:54we can just out-execute them and get a lot of that market share from them. We have to believe
05:00there's
05:00something to buy that is accretive to our investors, but I'm certainly going to take a look at all the
05:07companies out there. And I think consolidating the long tail is one of the opportunities that I see.
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