STOCKHOLM Estonian ride-hailing and food delivery startup Bolt named Mikko Salovaara as its chief financial officer ahead of the company's preparation for an initial public offering.

The company, a rival of Uber, was valued at over $8 billion when it raised 628 million euros from investors in January last year.

Chief Executive Officer Markus Villig told Reuters in May that Bolt expects to become profitable in the next 12 months and be ready for an IPO in 2025. The company has 150 million customers in over 45 countries and 500 cities.

Salovaara, who will join the company later this month, was earlier the CFO of fintech firm Revolut.

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; editing by Barbara Lewis)