Uber Technologies Inc. is in talks to acquire scooter-sharing startup Bird Rides Inc. and has also held talks with LimeBike Inc., according to an unconfirmed report.

The Information, quoting several people briefed on the discussions, said in a report late Friday that the Bird acquisition talks may include a multibillion-dollar price tag. But in the event that the talks are not successful, Uber is looking to Lime as an alternative acquisition target.

Both Bird and Lime are major players in the rapidly growing scooter-sharing business. Bird last raised $300 million in June and counts among its investors Sequoia Capital, while Lime raised $335 million in July, with Uber itself becoming an investor in the company.

The report notes that Uber is seeking to acquire one of the companies before the end of the year. But Bird Chief Executive Officer Travis VanderZanden claims that the company is not for sale, something The Verge noted may or may not be a negotiating tactic.

Bike and scooter-sharing have become a proxy war of sorts between the major players in the ride-hailing business. The apparent aim is to create an ecosystem of transport options that give customers choice within the same company.

Uber’s U.S. rival Lyft Inc. finalized the acquisition of the core assets of Motivate International Inc. last week to become the largest bike-sharing company in the U.S. Lyft launched its own scooter-sharing business in September and is expected to leverage the Motivate business to expand its scooter business more rapidly across major U.S. cities.

For its part, Uber acquired bike sharing service Jump in April and has recently starting to offer electric scooters alongside bikes.

The other significant player in the market is the Ford Motor Co., which trails ride-hailing services and which has been using self-driving cars since February. It acquired Spin, a competitor to both Bird and Lime, in November.

Uber’s interest in outright acquiring a scooter-sharing company should not come as a surprise. Although both Bird and Lime have strong venture capital backing, there is a clear acquisition trend in the scooter market, and Uber will want to buy one of them not only to own its own slice of the market but also potentially to stave off other up-and-coming rivals from buying them instead.

Photo: southbeachcars/Flickr