Edison Partners leads $15M investment in Zagster

Princeton-based Edison Partners, a growth equity investment firm, announced Monday it is spearheading a new $15 million growth investment in Zagster, a bike share services provider.

Zagster, which is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will use the investment to expand sales and marketing efforts for its new Pace brand.

Zagster currently operates the largest number of bike-sharing sites in the U.S., with more than 200 programs in 35 states.

“Zagster built its business first, with more than 200 systems already established in close partnership with municipalities across the U.S. Their hybrid model — blending the predictability of dedicated bike racks with the freedom of not needing to use them — is unique, and their record of strong customer support and satisfaction appeals to communities looking for a best-in-class bike share program,” said Tom Vander Schaaff, general partner at Edison Partners, who led the investment.

Edison has now invested $20 million in the company. Zagster, along with Edison’s initial investment in January 2017, has experienced nearly 300 percent annual growth of its deployed bike fleets.

“Zagster has strong logo additions, bookings growth and has also more than quadrupled its revenue over the last two years. They’re signing volumes of new customers and increasing existing accounts at a rapid pace and well ahead of plan. Our additional investment will enable their team to grow at scale and execute its model and new Pace brand across their existing and expanding footprint,” Vander Schaaff said.

“We’re thrilled to have Edison by our side as we continue to scale our growth across new municipalities and markets. The Edison team has been instrumental in helping us refine our business model and go-to-market approach to differentiate Zagster and capture market share in the bike sharing space,” said Tim Ericson, co-founder and CEO, Zagster.