Fortum Private placement Infracapital

IMPROVED advises Fortum in the divesture of its CPO activities to and primary capital raise from Infracapital

Date April 27th, 2020
Transaction type M&A
Sector Energy
Sub Sector Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

Fortum signed an agreement to sell the majority of its public charge point operator (CPO) Fortum Recharge AS for electric vehicles in the Nordics to Infracapital. It is the largest CPO in the Nordics, owning close to 1,300 public charging points, a majority of which being DC fast charging units and operating an additional 1,400 charging points in Norway, Finland, and Sweden. After the transaction, Fortum’s ownership in the CPO will be 37%. 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.

IMPROVED acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Fortum on this transaction. This represents the 5th transaction in EV charging executed by the IMPROVED team. Fortum will continue to own and operate its leading EV charging customer interface under its Charge and Drive and Plugsurfing brands, to offer home and destination charging services to its customers.

Fortum will also continue to provide software as a service (SaaS) for operating EV charging infrastructure and customer interfaces to other CPOs. 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.

“We are excited to start the common journey with Infracapital for providing the outstanding coverage and user experience to Nordic EV drivers. It is easy to build on our common green values and ambitions. We highly appreciate the great work IMPROVED Corporate Financedid in facilitating this partnering process.”

Jussi Uskola

Vice President Corporate M&A, Fortum

“Another deal with winners only ... This transaction is another clear example of how the sector is evolving. Very few well positioned parties can claim market leadership positions in their respective fields. These leaders will therefore benefit most from the expected exponential growth in the overall EV and charging businesses in Norway, but also in the other Scandinavian countries. After years of seeing the market developed by entrepreneurs and first-mover companies, we now experience serious interest from large infrastructure funds, who recognize EV charging as a very attractive asset class and can invest vast amounts on the basis of increasingly secure revenues. For IMPROVED this transaction is the latest of an ongoing series of landmark transactions, adding to the expertise we can make available to other players aiming for a winning position.”

Frank Verbeek

Managing Partner, IMPROVED

IMPROVED advises Fortum in the divesture of its CPO activities to and primary capital raise from Infracapital

Jussi Uskola

Frank Verbeek

Deal Makers

Frank Verbeek

Sherief Rahim

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