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 special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), resulting in EVgo becoming a public company.

The combined company, which will be named EVgo Corporation and publicly listed under the ‘EVGO’ symbol on the closing of the transaction, will have a market value worth $2.6 billion. The transaction will be completed in the second quarter of 2021. LS Power and EVgo will be rolling all their equity in the combined company and hold a 74% stake in the company.

The transaction will provide around $575 million of net cash proceeds to the company, including $400 million from the private investment in public equity and around $230 million of cash held in trust by CRIS. The proceeds will be utilized to enhance the company’s growth strategy, including the development of its charging infrastructure network.

The combined company’s board of directors will have representatives from EVgo, LS Power, and CRIS. Cathy Zoi will continue as a chief executive officer of the combined company, and David Nanus of LS Power will serve as the chairman of the combined company.

David Nanus, EVgo Chairman and Co-Head of Private Equity at LS Power, said, “This business combination, which will both fully fund and accelerate the company’s growth plans, positions EVgo to further strengthen its market-leading position.”

According to EVgo, its charging infrastructure network, powered by 100% renewable energy, has over 800 fast-charging locations in 67 major metropolitan markets across 34 states of the United States, catering to over 220,000 consumers. It also partnered with General Motors to add over 2,700 fast chargers to its network over the next five years.

According to Mercom Capital Group’s 2020 Q4 and Annual Battery Storage, Smart Grid and Efficiency Funding, and M&A Report, over $1 billion have been raised by smart charging companies since 2012.

In September 2020, ChargePoint, a U.S.-based electric charging network company, signed a definitive business combination agreement with publicly traded special-purpose acquisition company Switchback Energy Acquisition Corporation.