April 2020
Infracapital agrees to acquire majority stake in leading Nordic EV charging platform
- Fortum and Infracapital enter partnership to drive growth in leading Nordic public electric vehicle charge point operator
- Fortum Recharge positioned at the forefront of Europe’s rapidly transitioning, low-carbon infrastructure landscape
Summary: Infracapital, the infrastructure equity investment arm of M&G Plc, has signed an agreement with Fortum to acquire a 63% stake in Fortum Recharge, the leading public Electric Vehicle (“EV”) Charge Point Operator (“CPO”) in the Nordics. Fortum Recharge is the largest CPO in the Nordics, owning close to 1,300 public charging points and operating an additional 1,400 charging points in Norway, Finland, and Sweden.
The partnership will create a shared ownership structure designed to accelerate Fortum Recharge’s growth plans in the public CPO market and reaffirm its market leading position. At the same time, the transaction will release capital to Fortum for further growth in this partnership, including services provided to Fortum’s mobility customers.
Fortum will continue to own and offer its leading mobility services for digital public charging, as well as home and destination charging services under its Charge & Drive and Plugsurfing brands. Fortum further continues to offer software as a service (SaaS) for operating EV charging infrastructure networks and customer interfaces to other CPOs.
Fortum Recharge is the fifth standalone investment made by Infracapital Partners III. The acquisition represents Infracapital’s fourth major investment across the Nordics and first investment in EV infrastructure, positioning it at the forefront of Europe’s changing infrastructure landscape as it moves to a sustainable, low-carbon economy. Fortum Recharge benefits from a significant early mover advantage having secured strategic charge locations and long-term local partnerships, reflected in its high charger utilisation rates and strong brand recognition.
The Nordic EV market is the most advanced and one of the fastest growing markets globally, strongly supported by government policy and ambitious decarbonisation targets. Consequently, there is a significant and accelerating demand for public fast EV charging infrastructure in the region as mass adoption of EVs continues.
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2020.
Christophe Bordes, Managing Director at Infracapital, said:
“Infracapital is committed to supporting Europe’s transition to a low-carbon economy while delivering value and sustainable growth for our investors. It is clear that EV will play a critical role in reducing carbon emissions and we are thrilled to have secured a high-quality scalable entry point into this market, working with Fortum, a leading clean-energy partner with a significant local presence and growth potential.”
Arun Aggarwal, SVP, Business Technology at Fortum, said:
“This is a great opportunity to partner with Infracapital, which allows us to grow Recharge substantially. For Fortum this is also a success story as it proves the value of the market leading Nordic charging services we have built over recent years. Together with Infracapital, we look forward to realising the full potential of Fortum Recharge in this high-growth sector.”
ENDS
About Infracapital
Infracapital invests in, builds and manages a diverse range of essential infrastructure to meet the changing needs of society and support long-term economic growth. We take an active role in all of our investments, whether nascent or large, to fulfil their potential and ensure they are adaptable and resilient. Our approach creates value for our investors, as we target investments with the scope for stable and sustainable growth. Our portfolio companies work closely with the communities where they are based, to the benefit of all stakeholders. Infracapital is well positioned to deliver the significant investment required to help build the future. The founder-led team of experienced specialists has worked with more than 50 companies around Europe and has raised and managed over £6.5 billion of client capital across six funds.
Infracapital is part of M&G Plc, a leading European savings and investments business. M&G manages the long-term savings of more than 5 million people and is a major investor in the UK and in the global economy. Total assets under management are £352 billion (as at 31 December 2019).
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About Fortum
Fortum is a leading clean-energy company that provides its customers with electricity, heating and cooling as well as smart solutions to improve resource efficiency. Fortum seeks to engage customers and society to join the change for a cleaner world. The Group employ more than 8,000 professionals in the Nordic and Baltic countries, Russia, Poland and India. In 2019, Fortum sales were EUR 5.4 billion and 59% of our electricity generation was CO2 free. Fortum's share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.