Chinese tech media is aflutter this morning after news last night that Kala, an O2O bike-rental company, went out of business after only 19 days of operation. In those 19 days, the company, in cooperation with the Putian government (a Tier 4 city in Fujian province), were only able to recover 157 of the 667 bikes they had put around the city for use. Now, they are saying that, due to an agreement with their investor, they are not able to refund any outstanding deposits.
Founded in October 2016, Kala (卡拉单车) planned to operate in Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities (in Chinese) to avoid head-on competition with bike-rental leaders Mobike and Ofo. However, it took them 2 months to find investment, after being turned down by 30 different investors.
Once they were able to get funding, they planned to expand with 5000 bikes to other Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities, but after the startling losses of their only real asset, their investor (not disclosed) invoked a clause in their value adjustment mechanism (VAM) agreement. This allowed them to take all desposits as recompense for an initial over-valuation of the company.
Start your free trial now.
Get instant access to all our premium content, archives, newsletters, and online community.
Monthly Membership
Yearly Membership
What you get
Full access to all premium content and our full archives
Members'-only newsletters
Preferential access and discounts to all TechNode events
Direct access to the TechNode newsroom
Start your free trial now.
Get instant access to all our premium content, archives, newsletters, and online community.