Rad Power Bikes reaches deal to sell itself for $13.2 million

Rad Power Bikes, an electric bike company, has agreed to sell itself to Life Electric Vehicles Holdings (Life EV) for approximately $13.2 million, shortly after filing for bankruptcy. The sale followed an auction with five bidders, where Life EV emerged as the winner with a bid totaling $14.9 million when liabilities are included. Retrospec, another e-bike company, was the backup bidder with a $13 million offer. This valuation is a significant drop from Rad Power’s peak valuation of $1.65 billion in October 2021. The acquisition requires approval from the bankruptcy judge. Life EV, based in Florida, is a developer and distributor in the light electric vehicle sector, though most of its own electric bikes were sold out at the time of reporting. Rad Power Bikes experienced rapid growth during the pandemic but later faced challenges including multiple layoffs, CEO changes, and safety issues related to older batteries that reportedly caught fire, with 31 incidents reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (C