Funding will aid the leading car-on-demand
company in monumental city expansion as they become the largest
electrified, autonomous fleet platform to serve the global trip
economy
SAN FRANCISCO, March 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Kyte, the company
pioneering cars delivered to you on-demand, today announced the
closing of an asset-backed credit financing of up to $200 million from Goldman Sachs ("Goldman") and
the Ares Global Management ("Ares") Alternative Credit Team to
accelerate the company's fleet growth and margin expansion. Kyte
and its financing providers will create a more robust trip economy
that services a more demanding customer with a shared vision of an
electrified, autonomous future.
"We are building a real business with real assets in the real
world. To get this right, we needed a debt capital provider that
shares our ambitious vision and can put real money behind it. The
credit facility from Goldman and Ares will catalyze our growth as
we build towards the future of transportation," said Ludwig Schoenack, Co-Founder of Kyte. "The
problem Kyte is solving is giving access to cars to people that
live in cities. These cars are a core element that we wanted to get
right, and we're committed to being a leader in customer-centricity
and technology-powered operational excellence."
In recent years, customer expectations have drastically
increased, as more convenient on-demand options have replaced brick
and mortar incumbents in the grocery, restaurant, and FMCG spaces.
Building on the same set of hypotheses, Kyte is creating a more
accessible solution for people to get cars on-demand and bridging
the massive gap between elevated consumer expectations and
frustrating existing experiences. An end-to-end product, Kyte is
redefining transportation by delivering and retrieving cars,
bypassing the inconveniences of car ownership, car leasing, and the
familiar hassles of traditional car rental. This paradigm shift
eliminates the need to own a car to experience the benefits of
individual vehicle travel.
The next ten years will bring about a dramatic shift in vehicle
sales towards electric fleets. Government investments will also
trend in this direction, with the US DOT putting $5 billion into EV charging networks. Taking
things one step further, autonomous technology will begin to move
to the forefront and, once widely available, will create even more
efficient and convenient options. As a result, Kyte will regularly
integrate new vehicle models into its fleet, and this funding
ensures the capital to evolve with the industry while expanding
upon its tech-forward product offering.
"We are excited to support Kyte in its next phase of
growth," said Felix Zhang, Managing
Director in Ares Alternative Credit. "With a shared vision for the
future of the transportation industry, this capital solution
demonstrates Ares' focus on innovative businesses that are
disrupting traditional business models."
Paving the way for a new understanding of mobility, Kyte has its
eyes set on global expansion that not only delivers, but surpasses
steep consumer expectations, through electric, shared, connected –
and eventually, autonomous transportation.
About Kyte
Kyte aims to give people better access to
fewer cars and replace car ownership by offering access to cars on
demand. The company's intentional approach increases vehicle
utilization and takes cars off the road for a more sustainable
future while saving customers time and money.
Through the Kyte mobile app on iOS, Android, or website,
customers can book a car for a day, multiple days, multiple weeks,
months, or however long they want. To begin, customers choose a
time and location for their vehicle delivery. Then, the company
dispatches a delivery driver — known as a "Kyte Surfer" — to
deliver a clean, sanitized car at the time requested. When the
vehicle is ready to be returned, a Kyte Surfer retrieves the car
from the customer at the location and time they can flexibly
choose.
Currently operational in over a dozen cities, Kyte was founded
in 2019 by Nikolaus Volk,
Ludwig Schoenack, and Francesco Wiedemann, and is headquartered in
San Francisco, CA, with offices in
Munich, Germany, and satellites
across the globe. For more information about Kyte, visit their
website, and for career
opportunities, please visit their career page.
About Ares Management Corporation
Ares Management
Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment
manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary
investment solutions across the credit, private equity, real estate
and infrastructure asset classes. We seek to provide flexible
capital to support businesses and create value for our stakeholders
and within our communities. By collaborating across our investment
groups, we aim to generate consistent and attractive investment
returns throughout market cycles. As of December 31, 2021, Ares Management Corporation's
global platform had approximately $306
billion of assets under management, with approximately 2,100
employees operating across North
America, Europe,
Asia Pacific and the Middle East. For more information, please
visit www.aresmgmt.com.
About Ares Alternative Credit
Ares' Alternative Credit
strategy focuses on lending to and investing in assets that
generate contractual cash flows and fills gaps in the capital
markets between credit, private equity and real estate. Ares
Alternative Credit targets investments across the capital structure
in specialty finance, lender finance, loan portfolios, equipment
leasing, structured products, net lease, cash flow streams
(royalties, licensing, management fees), and other asset-focused
investments. Co-Headed by Keith
Ashton and Joel Holsinger,
Ares Alternative Credit leverages a broadly skilled and cohesive
team of approximately 50 investment professionals as of
December 31, 2021. Aligning Ares'
investment activities with its societal impact, Ares and
Alternative Credit portfolio managers have committed to donating a
portion of carried interest from certain Alternative Credit funds
to global health and education charities.
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SOURCE Kyte