Charger for Wallbox (source: Wallbox)
Iberdrola, the wind energy leader, is the largest institutional investor of Wallbox, and Wallbox will raise about $330 million in the merger transaction, including debt, and the market value of the company will reach about $1.5 billion.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year, which will include $100 million investment from Kensington, Janus Henderson Investors, Luxor Capital and Cathay Innovation.
Wallbox may become the first European car charger manufacturer to go public through a merger with a special purpose company (SPAC). Compared with the traditional listing method, "backdoor listing" is often a faster and easier way to go public.
Start-ups in innovative fields such as automobile technology choose to merge with SPAC to "go public by backdoor" because these companies can promise investors that when their products become mainstream, they can predict the future income for investors, which is restricted by IPO regulations.
Enric Asuncion, CEO of Wallbox, said in a statement: "The deal with Kensington will enable us to greatly enhance our product development and manufacturing capabilities."
Investors hope to replicate the success of Tesla, an electric vehicle manufacturer, in the field of electric vehicles. Quantumscape, a Silicon Valley battery group supported by Volkswagen, also achieved "backdoor listing" by merging with an independent subsidiary of Kensington last year.
Last week, Iberdrola, a private multinational electrical company in Spain, said that it would snap up 1,000 fast chargers in the first batch of Wallbox’s new series and deploy them in homes, enterprises and roads to meet the growing demand.
At present, Kensington has hired Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, Cuatrecasas Goncalves Pereira and Houthoff as legal advisors, and UBS as financial advisor. Wallbox hired Balek Bank (Barclays), Drake Star Partners, Latham & Watkins LLP and Loyens & Loeff, an international law and tax company, as consultants.