French EDF eyes public listing for EV charging unit Pod Point - report

January 18 (SeeNews) – French utility Electricite de France SA (EPA:EDF) is drafting plans for a potential initial public offering (IPO) of the British electric vehicle (EV) charging company Pod Point, in which it is the controlling shareholder, Sky News reported on Saturday citing informed sources.

Barclays is said to have been tapped to assist with the possible offering, which is estimated to be valued at several hundreds of millions of pounds.

The timing and structure of the transaction are yet to be determined, according to the news agency.

EDF took control of Pod Point in February 2020 for an undisclosed sum, as part of a new joint venture with the early-stage investment arm of UK insurer Legal & General Group.

This deal was seen to align the French utility's goal of becoming the leading energy company for electric mobility in France, the UK, Italy and Belgium. In late 2019 EDF acquired UK startup Pivot Power, which specialises in charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. The French company also owns EV charging and smart-charging technology developers Izivia and Dreev.

Set up in 2009, Pod Point has manufactured and sold over 96,000 charging points in the UK and Norway. The start-up has developed a public network of over 3,700 charging bays across the UK, installed at supermarkets, Center Parc holiday villages and a number of sites in Legal & General’s property portfolio.

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