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BFD Expert Voices - Climate Deals

BFD Expert Voices

Spring Lane Capital has acquired a majority stake in Spring Free EV, a finance and small fleet-management provider.

Why it matters: The firm plans to exit the investment within a few years.

Driving the news: Spring Lane took control of Spring Free this month by leading a $7.2 million round, which included a conversion of some SAFEs, firm partner Rob Day tells Axios Pro.

Day became the company's CEO in the transaction, succeeding Sunil Paul, who departed the role in April.

What they're saying: "It was a value opportunity, but it wasn't a fire sale," Day says. 

"The company had a hard time going out there and finding external financing in 2025. We would've all preferred to have outside capital come in."

Context: Spring Free had provided financing for about 400 vehicle leases since its launch in 2021. 

The San Francisco-based company had raised $35.7 million from investors including Brainstorm Ventures, Pitbull Ventures, Climate Capital, and Gaingels, as well as LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Zynga founder Mark Pincus and Twitter co-founder Evan Williams.

How it works: Spring Free facilitates lease financing for ride-hail drivers, last-mile-delivery companies, contractors, and other businesses to buy EVs. 

It bundles the service with conventional fleet-management offerings, such as route optimization and suggested maintenance schedules.

Spring Free generates revenue from the companies leasing the vehicles and the lenders providing the financing.

What's next: Spring Lane aims to turn Spring Free into an attractive acquisition target in "less than five years," Day says.

"If you can gain special access to lead generation, and you can show these are good assets that perform well and have a good return," he tells Axios, "that makes us an attractive roll-up target for someone in the specialty finance industry."

Exclusive: Spring Lane acquires fleet management startup Spring Free EV

The private equity firm took a majority stake in the startup.

Illustration of a car key with a glowing lightning bolt

Spring Lane Capital has acquired a majority stake in Spring Free EV, a finance and small fleet-management provider.Why it matters: The firm plans to exit the investment within a few years.

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Exclusive: Spring Lane acquires fleet management startup Spring Free EV

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