A new fast charging station should help the subsidiary to new growth.
(Photo: via REUTERS)
Frankfurt, Zurich The electrical engineering group ABB plans to list its electric car charging technology division on the SIX Swiss Exchange in the second quarter, despite market turbulence. The IPO of the company’s e-mobility subsidiary should generate at least 750 million dollars in revenue, as CEO Björn Rosengren announced on Thursday when presenting the annual figures. The money is to flow into the growth of the subsidiary.
The business with charging stations for electric cars could go public in Zurich as early as mid-April, people familiar with the transaction said. ABB could place around a quarter of the shares at a valuation of around three billion dollars, it said. The major banks UBS and Morgan Stanley are leading the transaction. ABB declined to comment on the information.
Technology stocks and the papers of electric car manufacturers have been under pressure for weeks. In view of the volatile markets, the German drug manufacturer Cheplapharm canceled its IPO planned for this month in Frankfurt at the beginning of the week. ABB is sticking to its schedule so far. The volatility is not so high that new issues are no longer possible, said capital market bankers. Investors differentiated when selecting shares, and ABB E-Mobility is still in demand. The megatrend towards electromobility is intact.
While last year the focus was primarily on growth stocks, now particularly low-rated stocks (value stocks) are in demand. “ABB E-Mobility offers the infrastructure required for electromobility and is therefore a value title,” said an advisor engaged in the transaction. The volume of the shares placed is large enough to allow liquid trading in the securities. Investors appreciate that.
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intended for acquisitions
At the same time, ABB has scope to sell a slightly smaller portion of ABB e-mobility shares in the event of weaker demand due to volatility. As a result, ABB does not necessarily have to downgrade its expectations for the valuation. When IPOs fail, it is often because issuers and investors cannot agree on a valuation.
ABB has always emphasized that it wants to keep the majority of the e-mobility subsidiary and to continue to drive it forward. The company is considered one of the market leaders in charging station hardware. ABB only launched the fastest charging station to date in the fall of last year.
However, there is still a lot of catching up to do, especially when it comes to software solutions for the charging infrastructure, which ABB E-Mobility boss Frank Muehlon is supposed to cover primarily through acquisitions. Even before the IPO, the manager made international purchases. For example, Muehlon has increased its stake in the US provider Incharge Energy from ten to 60 percent. With a majority stake in the Chinese charging station operator Chargedot Shanghai New Energy Technology, ABB also wants to strengthen its market coverage in China.
More: ABB launches the fastest charging station for electric cars