SWVL Continues World Expansion With Acquisition of Turkey’s Volt Lines
The acquisition of the transportation-as-a-service operator comes as the fourth for SWVL since August 2021, as it continues its aggressive expansion across the world.
Egyptian-born, Dubai-headquartered transportation juggernaut, SWVL, has announced another acquisition in its quest for global domination. The company has now completed the acquisition of Turkish transportation-as-a-service operator Volt Lines, marking the fourth acquisition since August 2021, when it acquired Spain’s Shotl.
That was followed up in November With the acquisition of Latin America-serving transit company, ViaPool, while March 2022 saw SWVL also acquire Berlin-based mobility startup, door2door.
Founded in 2018, Volt Lines offer customers and corporates alternatives to public transportation and personal ride-hailing services in Turkey, working with some 110 companies. As part of the deal, Volt Lines founder, Ali Halabi, will stay on in some form of leadership role to lead the Turkish unit.
“When we launched Volt Lines four years ago, we set out to deliver a revolutionary transit experience to make commuting more reliable and affordable in Istanbul,” Halabi said. “We’re also excited about scaling our R&D centre in Istanbul into a global technology hub, giving SWVL reliable access to Turkey’s technical talent.”
The acquisition continues Turkish startups; rich vein of form when it comes to exist, with 8 exits recorded across EMVs in Q1’22. Among the highlight deals were Fashion & Lifestyle startup Beauty Pillow’s acquisition by Dubai-based Opontia and USA-based SciPlay acquiring Turkish counterpart, Alictus. With this deal, SWVL will look to build out its corporate offerings, while expanding its B2C services through what it sees as a strong foothold in Turkey.
