ChargePoint Holdings Inc has signed a deal to acquire European E-mobility technology provider Has·to·Be in a transaction valued at €250m (£217m).

ChargePoint said the deal would drive the pace of electrification across Europe and accelerate its industry leadership

Founded in 2013, Has·to·Be offers a range of EV charging solutions, backed by its Be.Energised hardware-agnostic EV charging platform that’s compatible with widely deployed European charging stations and e-mobility services. It has approximately 40,000 networked ports and over 250,000 networked ports through open roaming agreements – customers include Aral, Audi, Ionity and Porsche.

The business also offers turnkey EV fleet charging solutions via a network of partners.

ChargePoint said the deal would drive the pace of electrification across Europe and accelerate its industry leadership, supported by Has·to·Be’s strong European market share, especially in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

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.”

Under the terms of the agreement, ChargePoint will acquire Has·to·Be for a total purchase price of approximately €250m, subject to adjustments, to be paid in cash and stock. The team, customers and technology will become part of ChargePoint’s operations.

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, which acquired a minority stake in Has·to·Be in 2019, said the deal would help further drive EV take-up in Europe.

Elke Temme, head of Volkswagen Charging & Energy, commented: “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.”

The transaction is expected to close in 2021, subject to the satisfaction of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.