Less than a year after its own SPAC merger, electric vehicle startup Fisker has turned investor to support EV charging company Allego.
Fisker is investing $10 million in private-investment-in-public equity (PIPE) funding for the merger of Allego and special purpose acquisition company Spartan Acquisition Corp III. The merger, announced Tuesday, puts Allego at a pro forma equity value of $3.14 billion.
The transaction is expected to inject the EV charging provider with $702 million in cash, including $150 million in PIPE from Fisker, investors Landis+Gyr, as well as funds and accounts managed by London-based VC firm Hedosophia and ECP. Funds managed by Apollo Global Management affiliates and Meridiam, the majority shareholder of Allego, also participated in the PIPE. (Apollo is in the process of acquiring Verizon Media Group, which includes TechCrunch.)
Fisker, the sole EV automaker contributing to the PIPE, is interested in Allego’s infrastructure. The company operates more than 26,000 charging points throughout Europe.
Fisker has agreed to “a strategic partnership to deliver a range of charging options for its customers in Europe,” according to Allego. It includes a provision granting a free year of charging on the Allego network to drivers that purchase Fisker Ocean SUV between the beginning of 2023 to March 31, 2024.
The two companies are also working on a “seamless charging experience” for Fisker drivers using Allego chargers, the EV maker said in a separate statement.
“Allego has been a long-standing pioneer in the push to create a seamless pan-European electric vehicle charging network,” CEO Henrik Fisker said. “Our investment in the PIPE is motivated by strategic and tactical considerations, ensuring we have a stake in the future of EV charging networks while delivering tangible benefits to our customers.”
California-based Fisker is aiming to start deliveries of its all-electric Ocean SUV in November 2022, but it hasn’t always been a smooth road to pre-production. Henrik Fisker, a serial automotive entrepreneur best known for being the designer behind luxury vehicles like the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, raised nearly $1 billion in last year’s SPAC merger with Apollo Global Management Inc. That deal skyrocketed the startup’s valuation to $2.9 billion, but expectations deflated somewhat after major deals with Volkswagen fell apart.
Fisker has taken an outsourcing approach to its roster of electric vehicles. The Ocean will be produced via a long-term manufacturing agreement with Magna, Inc. The company signed an additional agreement with Taiwanese company Foxconn, the lead manufacturer of iPhones, to develop a new EV by the end of 2023 that will be sold under the Fisker brand.