APG, on behalf of Dutch pension funds ABP and PPF, invests €250 million of growth capital in Driveco, a French electric vehicle charging company. The transaction represents the largest fundraising in the electric charging point sector in France and one of the most significant in the sector, globally.
Driveco is a leading French electric vehicle charging infrastructure operator with over 8,000 charging points in operation or under construction. The company’s objective is to operate over 60,000 charging points in Europe by 2030, avoiding 3 million tons of CO2 emissions per year, in line with the European Union’s Fit for 55 objectives.
Driveco has generated record-level revenues of €25 million in 2022, tripling the result achieved in 2021. As a result of APG’s investment, it secured the funding to continue developing its network of charging stations in France and Belgium, and also expand internationally to Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Milestone
“This investment represents another milestone for APG and its pension fund clients ABP and PPF to significantly reduce carbon emissions worldwide and support the development of infrastructure solutions for the energy transition”, says Carlo Maddalena, Senior Portfolio Manager at APG. “Driveco has a proven track record of over ten years in the sector and is recognized by the users as one of the best charging operators thanks to its industry leading availability rate. The company is well positioned to become a key contributor to the ongoing electric vehicle revolution in France and in neighboring European countries over the coming years. Institutional investors are natural owners of these assets given their strong additionality contribution to the energy transition and overall value creation.”
Momentum
According to the latest report by the International Energy Agency, global sales of electric vehicles rose by 25% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same time last year and are expected to count for 18% of total car sales by the end of 2023 (up from 4% in 2020).
Amanda Vidal, Portfolio Manager at APG, says: “The path to Net Zero requires investment in multiple proven decarbonization solutions that will need to be scaled up to support the transition. The electric charging infrastructure sector has grown rapidly over the past years and continues to show strong momentum on the back of renewed commitments from governments and carmakers to accelerate the transition to decarbonized transportation. APG’s backing of Driveco is a testament to Management’s excellent multi-year track record, which is amongst the best in the sector.”
Structured
The investment has been structured through a combination of common equity and quasi-equity. Vidal: “The choice of structure for the funding of the transaction manages to secure an attractive risk-adjusted return for APG also in the event of less favorable market developments while retaining strong upside potential.”
The completion of the transaction is subject to applicable regulatory approvals and is expected to take place during the first half of 2023.
Read the press release here.