(Bloomberg) -- Blacklane GmbH, a luxury chauffeuring startup backed by Mercedes-Benz Mobility AG, raised €60 million ($65 million) in its latest funding round from investors including Tasaru Mobility Investments, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
The latest Series G is the Berlin-based firm’s largest ever financing round, according to a statement reviewed by Bloomberg News. The company plans to use the proceeds to expand its operations in the US, its largest market, as well as in the Middle East and Europe. In Saudi Arabia, it’s looking to launch fleets of electric vehicles in several key cities and train female and male chauffeurs.
The funding round values Blacklane at more than €500 million, according to people familiar with the transaction, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.
Blacklane offers services including airport transfers, city-to-city commutes and chauffeur-by-the-hour in over 50 countries globally. Besides Mercedes-Benz Mobility, it also counts United Arab Emirates conglomerate Gargash Enterprises, family business Al Fahim Group, Alstin Family and RI Digital Ventures among its investors.
The company is in the early stages of weighing an initial public offering and has appointed Evercore Inc. to explore a variety of options, Bloomberg News reported last year.
Blacklane is “keeping all options open” while there’s no concrete plan for a potential listing, Jens Wohltorf, its chief executive officer and co-founder said in an interview.
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