Bird pioneered scooter sharing. Now it's going public

Bird, the startup that pioneered shared electric scooters, plans to go public as soon as this summer.

Bird will merge with a special purpose acquisition company, Switchback II Corporation, valuing the startup at $2.3 billion. After the merger, the company will have up to $428 million in cash to fund operations and growth. The companies announced the deal Wednesday and said it will require Switchback shareholder approval and have to meet other closing conditions, which the companies described as customary in a news release.