Electric vehicles and charging stations are engines of growth as Autotech M&A holds steady during Covid – Hampleton Partners’ report
London, UK – 16 February 2022. The latest Autotech & Mobility M&A Market Report from Hampleton Partners, the international M&A and corporate finance advisory firm for technology companies, reveals that the appetite for Autotech & Mobility deals has remained consistent despite the impact of Covid disruption, the global semiconductor shortage and supply chain issues. Hampleton recorded 46 deals in the second half of 2021 and a total of 97 across the whole year, in line with previous years.
Valuation multiples also showed a reliable trend development on both a revenue and EBITDA basis: the trailing 30-month median revenue multiple increased and came in at 3.2x, while the corresponding EBITDA multiple has remained steady at 11.8x.
Electric vehicles and charging stations
Michel Annink, director, Hampleton Partners, said: “As EV sales take off, demand for charging solutions is exploding. Forecasts predict that EV charging will be a €36 billion market in Europe for passenger cars alone in 2030.
“New revenue pools are emerging within EV charging, including recurring revenues from mobility services and payments, operations and energy management and asset ownership and electricity representing the lion’s share of this market.”
Key 2021 deals included Chargepoint’s acquisition of ViriCiti, a provider of electrification solutions for eBus and commercial fleets, for $88 million, and EVgo’s acquisition of PlugShare, an e-mobility software company for $25 million.
Electrification of the passenger car market reached a tipping point in December, when Europe recorded more EV than diesel sales for the first time in history and annual diesel sales dropped by more than 50 per cent.
The future of M&A in the Autotech & Mobility sector
Michel Annink continued: “Despite continuous pandemic-related market challenges, Autotech M&A activity remained strong in 2021. The year saw the largest Autotech & Mobility M&A transaction since 2017, Qualcomm’s $4.5 billion acquisition of Swedish ADAS technology provider Veoneer, and other major deals including Toyota’s acquisition of Lyft’s self-driving division for $550 million.
“As for the future, there is great promise for the many companies that are already or could become active in the public EV charging market, such as infrastructure companies, charging equipment manufacturers, companies that install or maintain public charging points, charging station operators, site owners and providers of charging software that offer apps for payment and location search.
“We believe that 2022 will be a year of increased M&A activity in the industry as the automotive sector undergoes mass reinvention, with carmakers scrambling to seize upon the vast growth of EVs and autonomy. Across the board, we expect continued activity and robust valuations in the sector.”
Hampleton’s Autotech & Mobility M&A Report analyses transactions, trends and activity across the Enterprise Applications, Internet Commerce & Content, Embedded Software & Systems, and Mobility & Fleet Management segments of the sector.
Download the full Hampleton Partners’ Autotech & Mobility M&A Market Report 1H2022:
https://www.hampletonpartners.com/reports/autotech-report/
