EDF JV buys into British EV charging firm Pod Point

French utility Electricite de France SA (EPA:EDF) on Thursday said it has acquired a majority interest in Pod Point, a UK electric vehicle (EV) charging company, as part of a new joint venture with the early-stage investment arm of UK insurer Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN).

Under the terms, Legal & General has increased its stake in Pod Point to 23% from 13%.

Financial terms of the deal were not revealed. It it is worth more than GBP 100 million (USD 130.3m/EUR 120.2m), UK newspaper CityAM reported without naming sources.

This is EDF’s largest investment in the EV market and aligns with its goal of becoming the leading energy company for electric mobility in France, the UK, Italy and Belgium. The acquisition comes on the back of the French utility's purchase in late 2019 of UK startup Pivot Power, which specialises in charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. Pod Point will complement the activities of EDF subsidiaries Izivia and Dreev, which also develop EV charging and smart charging technologies.

Set up in 2009, Pod Point has 62,000 charging points in the UK and 6,600 in Norway. It has developed a public network of almost 3,000 charging bays across the UK, at supermarkets, Center Parcs holiday villages and a number of sites in Legal & General’s property portfolio.

(GBP 1.0 = USD 1.303/EUR 1.202)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!