Electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions provider Wallbox Chargers and Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), have agreed to combine their businesses, converting Wallbox into a publicly listed company.

The new company will retain the name Wallbox and be listed on the New York Stock Exchange for trading under the new ticker symbol ‘WBX’.

Wallbox designs and manufactures EV charging solutions for residential, semi-public, and public use, and its products are sold in 67 countries. Its products are currently manufactured in Spain and China, with plans to add a U.S. manufacturing facility in 2022. The company employs over 500 people in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Earlier this month, Iberdrola acquired the first Supernova fast chargers from Wallbox. Iberdrola will install these globally in the markets in which it operates.

Meanwhile, Kensington is a SPAC formed to effect a merger, stock purchase, or similar business combinations with a business in the automotive and automotive-related sectors.

With the merger, Wallbox’s pro forma enterprise value is at an implied $1.5 billion. The board of directors of both Kensington and Wallbox has approved the proposed transaction, which would be completed in the third quarter of 2021.

The transaction will raise around $330 million for Wallbox, including a $100 million fully committed private investment in public equity, anchored by Janus Henderson Investors, Luxor Capital, Cathay Innovation, and Kensington Capital Partners.

Enric Asunción, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Wallbox, said, “This transaction with Kensington will allow us to significantly increase our product development and manufacturing capacity as we expand sales globally to enhance the global transition to EVs.”

Justin Mirro, chairman and CEO of Kensington, added, “We are incredibly excited to announce our business combination with Wallbox and to provide the company with significant capital and automotive industry experience to accelerate its global business plan.”

SPACs are designed to take companies public without going through the lengthy IPO process. With the uncertainty resulting from the pandemic in public markets, there is a rising number of SPACs.

There have been a couple of transactions in the EV charging space particularly. Earlier in March 2021, U.S.-based electric vehicle charging network company ChargePoint’s shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on March 1, 2021, following its business combination with Switchback Energy Acquisition Corporation, a publicly-traded SPAC.

Similarly, EVgo Services,  a wholly-owned subsidiary of LS Power and electric vehicle charging infrastructure provider, has signed a definitive agreement for a business combination with Climate Change Crisis Real Impact I Acquisition Corporation (CRIS), a SPAC, resulting in EVgo becoming a public company.

According to Mercom Capital Group’s latest report, Q1 2021 Funding and M&A Report for Storage, Grid, and Efficiency, smart charging companies raised $256 million in seven deals in Q1 2021 compared to no deals in this category in Q4 2020. During the quarter, Wallbox had secured $40 million in funding from Cathay Innovation, Wind Ventures, Iberdrola, and Seaya Ventures.

Image credit: Wallbox