Shell Plc (GB:SHEL, NL:RDS.A) U.S. subsidiary Shell USA said it’s acquiring electric vehicle charger company Volta Inc. (US:VLTA) in an all-cash transaction valued at about $169 million.
The deal calls for Shell USA to acquire all outstanding shares of class A common stock of Volta at 86 cents per share in cash upon completion of the merger. That’s a roughly 18 percent premium to the Volta’s Jan. 17 closing price.
Vince Cubbage, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Volta, said in a news release, “The shift to e-mobility is unstoppable, and Shell recognizes Volta’s industry-leading dual charging and media model delivers a public charging offering that is affordable, reliable, and accessible.” Cubbage continued, “This acquisition will bring that experience together to provide the needed options as more drivers choose electric.”
The transaction provides the opportunity to unlock Volta’s significant signed pipeline of charging stalls in construction or evaluation and capture the EV charging market opportunity, the companies said.
Volta’s board unanimously approved the transaction and recommended its stockholders do the same at a yet to be scheduled special shareholder meeting. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2023. The merger’s closing is subject to Volta’s stockholders’ approval, the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, and other applicable regulatory approvals.
Goldman Sachs and Barclays Capital are advising Volta, and Shearman & Sterling LLP is the company’s legal counsel. UBS Securities LLC is a financial adviser to Shell, and Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP serves as Shell’s legal adviser.
The deal could be part of a wave of mergers and acquisitions expected this year for clean-energy firms that went public during the boom of special-purpose acquisition companies and are now running out of cash. Shell and other oil-and-gas giants have been spending on clean-energy technologies like renewable natural gas lately and are now looking to acquire struggling green SPACs that have seen their share prices drop by 80% or more.
Volta is one of several clean-energy companies that went public during the SPAC boom of 2021. The company was initially valued at roughly $2 billion and is backed by investors, including BlackRock.
In other recent developments, Shell in November agreed to buy Nature Energy Biogas A/S for nearly $2 billion (€ 1.9 billion). The deal was made with Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP, Pioneer Point Partners, and Sampension.
And in November, Shell’s CEO Ben van Beurden made it clear that the company is committed to becoming a net-zero emissions business by 2050.
To achieve this, the company is investing heavily in renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. It is also investing in energy storage solutions, such as battery storage, to help manage the intermittence of renewable energy sources.
In addition, Shell is investing in hydrogen and carbon capture and storage technologies to reduce emissions from its existing operations. The company is also exploring opportunities to develop green hydrogen and synthetic fuels. These investments are expected to help Shell transition to a low-carbon future.
This article originally appeared on Fintel
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