China’s young bike-sharing industry is undergoing a big spin, as one of its top players, Mobike reportedly is swooping in to buy a smaller rival, the first acquisition in the hotly competitive sector. Beijing Mobike Technology will complete acquiring Xiamen-based UniBike in the near future, portal Tencent reported, citing an unnamed source. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. In a written statement to Caixin, MoBike said the report was “not accurate,” but did not elaborate. Last year, Mobike twice invested in UniBike and now holds 30% of its shares. UniBike was the first company to cancel the deposit and ask only for up to 0.5 yuan 7.3 US cents) for a half-hour ride. Mobike, one of the top two giants in the industry, started in Shanghai in April 2016. It now operates in 100 cities in China, Singapore and the UK. It will roll out bikes in Japan later this year.
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