ChargePoint, a leading EV charging network operating in North America and Europe, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire has·to·be, an e-mobility provider with a leading European charging software platform. This transaction comes as Europe is among the fastest-growing markets for EV sales worldwide.
Under the terms of the agreement, ChargePoint will acquire has·to·be for a total purchase price of approximately €250 million, subject to adjustments, to be paid in cash and stock. The transaction is expected to close in 2021, subject to the satisfaction of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Pasquale Romano, President and CEO of ChargePoint, said, “As an established leader in North America, our continued investment in Europe is critical to our stated growth strategy. We’re excited to announce our agreement to acquire has·to·be, a leader in its own right with a talented team, an impressive base of customers committed to e-mobility and robust technology. Our combined assets should position us to accelerate our leadership as electrification continues to take hold across continents.”
The has·to·be team, customers and technology will be part of ChargePoint’s operations. Founded in 2013, has·to·be today has 125 employees in Austria and Germany, as well as approximately 40,000 networked ports and over 250,000 networked ports through open roaming agreements. ChargePoint will be positioned to benefit from has·to·be’s strong European market share, especially in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. has·to·be boasts over 1,000 customers in a variety of sectors, from automotive and fleet to oil and gas and energy, from leading brands such as Aral, Audi, GP Joule, Ionity and Porsche. The expansive has·to·be software platform effectively addresses the complexity and fragmentation of today’s European charging landscape and is compatible with widely deployed European charging stations and e-mobility services.
Martin Klässner, co-founder and CEO of has·to·be, said, “Over the past eight years, our talented team has helped lead e-mobility in Europe and attracted a large base of leading brands as customers who rely on our charging software platform every day to meet their technical requirements. Together with the resources of ChargePoint, we will continue in this spirit and achieve even greater scale as the market continues to expand.”
Volkswagen is an investor and a key stakeholder in has·to·be. Elke Temme, Head of Volkswagen Charging & Energy, said, “Our longstanding commitment to e-mobility includes an early investment in has·to·be. We believe ChargePoint and has·to·be together have great potential to drive the adoption of e-mobility.”
