(Reuters) – Electric vehicle charging companies are undergoing a sweeping consolidation and revaluation, according to a Reuters analysis of data provided by investor website PitchBook.
More than 20 EV charging startups in Europe and North America have been acquired since 2017, a number of them by big European energy companies.
Paris-based Électricité de France (EDF) has been one of the most active, buying Pod Point, Ubitricity, Pivot Power and PowerFlex since 2019, while launching joint ventures Gireve (with Renault) and Dreev (with Nuvve).
Oslo-based Mer, a unit of state-owned Statkraft, has scooped up six startups since 2018, including Elmtronics, Bee Charging, Vattenfall, Gronn Kontakt, E-Wald and eeMobility.
BP Plc, TotalEnergies SE, Shell and Engie SA also have been active acquirers.
In the United States, publicly traded Blink Charging Co has acquired four startups in the sector since 2020, including two this year: SemaConnect and Electric Blue.
At least five EV charging startups have gone public via SPAC-sponsored reverse mergers since 2020. Of those companies, market caps have fallen as much as 64% from their public offerings.
The most valuable of these newly public charging companies is California-based ChargePoint Holdings Inc, valued at $4.7 billion as of July 1, down 57% year over year.
(Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
