Wallbox plans to be a public company Several media including Reuters reported that Barcelona based electric-vehicle charger maker Wallbox plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange later this […]
Several media including Reuters reported that Barcelona based electric-vehicle charger maker Wallbox plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange later this year through a merger with Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp.
Wallbox will raise about $330 million from several companies including Iberdrola as its largest institutional investor, too. Wallbox will complete the deal in the third quarter of 2021. In addition, it will include a $100 million investment from Kensington along with Janus Henderson Investors, Luxor Capital and Cathay Innovation.
In fact, the company could become the first European vehicle charger maker to hit public markets through merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Nowadays innovative startups have chosen SPACs more. This is because they can present investors with the promise of future profits forecast for when their products become mainstream.
Investors have sought in the sector to replicate the stock market success of electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla Inc. They think that the company’s milestone, which is first 1,000 fast charger installations, meets growing demand.
According to its homepage, Wallbox is a Barcelona-based smart charging company. Company’s mission is to liberate the world from fossil fuels. To realize this transition, transportation has to be electric. By developing state-of-the-art electric vehicle charging solutions for homes, businesses and cities, the company convince they become more sustainable ways of using and sharing energy.
According to Investopedia, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is a company with no commercial operations that is formed strictly to raise capital through an initial public offering (IPO) for the purpose of acquiring an existing company
Nowadays, SPACs become more popular, attracting big-name underwriters and investors and raising a record amount of IPO money in 2019. For example, in 2020, as of the beginning of August, more than 50 SPACs have been formed in the US. What’s more, they have raised some $21.5 billion.
We think 2020 is the year to raise our awareness on climate change. In fact, many countries, regions and companies declared their intention to realize carbon neutrality within few decades. For example, the world third largest economy, Japan, would want to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
However, to realize carbon neutrality is easier said than done. Thus, the next question is how to realize it? Instead of selling gasoline or diesel vehicles, to sell electric cars is one option. Or we can say that we must do so. If more people in the world purchase electric vehicles, what are prerequisites? Enough numbers of EV charging station is one of prerequisites, of course.
Therefore, Wallbox’s main business area does make sense. In addition, as we see the above, this innovation strongly matches with SPAC. Most of unicorns, which are privately held startup companies valued at over $1 billion, are American and Chinese companies. However, we can find clues to increase the number of unicorns in each country like Wallbox.
If countries increase their unicorns and promote innovation, they must have deep insights for our future. In this sense, business intelligence becomes more important from now on. Furthermore, our imagination, intention and intelligence are also crucial.
