Addison Lee Buys Flyte Tyme To Expand In US

Addison Lee, a minicab company headquartered in London and owned by The Carlyle Group, has inked a deal to acquire Flyte Tyme, a U.S.-based competitor.

According to a report, which cited a source familiar with the acquisition, the deal is valued at $25 million. Addison Lee said the purchase will give it revenues of $100 million in North America.

“We feel that Addison Lee and Flyte Tyme are a perfect match, since both firms strive to provide and deliver the highest-quality ground transportation in their respective marketplaces,” said Timothy Rose, CEO of Flyte Tyme Worldwide Transportation, according to the report. “Through this acquisition, we will be able to leverage our combined technology and client service capabilities to deliver a truly global service for our clients.”

Rose will run the business in North America. Flyte Time was started in 1979 and has turnover of $65 million. It has a fleet of 425 vehicles and serves the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Los Angeles markets. Andy Boland, CEO of Addison Lee, said in the report the acquisition is an “important moment for the car industry.” Addison Lee is competing with the likes of Uber and Lyft in the U.S., as well as yellow cabs in New York City.

In the case of all of its North American rivals, Addison Lee has tough competition, and it’s not only from ride-hailing apps. According to the most recent data published by New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, in April, 11.1 million taxi trips happened in the month, averaging 400,000 trips a day. That’s a 9 percent decline from a year ago, but it is still more than Uber. Morgan Stanley found in a recent research report that, in April of last year, Uber had 4.7 million rides, which is a 121 percent increase year over year. But while Uber saw an increase in usage, Uber dispatches a similar amount of drivers per week as taxi companies, which indicates taxi drivers take about twice as many fares a week than Uber drivers do. Morgan Stanley found Uber drivers did an average of 44 trips in a given week. That amounts to about six trips per day over a period of seven days. Taxi drivers perform 91 trips a week, which amounts to 13 trips per day.