EDF to buy Pod Point for £10.6m amid ‘slow’ electric car adoption

EDF has struck a deal to buy Pod Point for £10.6 million after the electric vehicle-charging firm grappled with weaker EV sales and a plunging share price.

The energy giant said a takeover was the “only realistic prospect” of allowing Pod Point to keep operating as a business for the future.

EDF was already a majority shareholder and the deal means it will take over the rest of the group.

Pod Point, which has a network of more than 250,000 charging points in the UK, said at the start of the year that it was facing a “difficult market backdrop”.

Pure battery electric cars made up just under a fifth of the new car market last year.

This is despite the Government’s zero-emission vehicles (Zev) mandate requiring carmakers to ensure 22% of their sales were pure electric.

EDF, which currently owns 53% of shares, said the company has consistently been reliant on it for funding and financial support.

Pod Point said on Thursday it has been impacted by the slower-than-expected adoption of EVs and increased competition, meaning it has struggled to make a profit.

EDF said acquiring the business would provide “long-term stability” that would enable it to invest in its charging products.

It has offered 6.5p per Pod Point share, valuing the company at about £10.6 million. It needs to be approved by shareholders.

The business floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2021 and was valued at about £350 million, but saw its share price drop rapidly from the 275p it peaked at.

Its shares were suspended in April after receiving a takeover approach from EDF, and saying it would therefore have to delay publishing its full-year financial results.