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Pod Point fails to spark as EDF seals cut-price takeover
Pod Point's three-and-a-half year journey as a public company will near an ignominious end on Thursday when it recommends a cut-price takeover by EDF, the French state-backed utility.
Sky News has learnt that Pod Point - which now trades just as Pod - is expected to issue a statement saying that its board has fallen in behind the 6.5p-a-share offer from EDF, which will value the company at only about £10m. The recommendation will end a calamitous run for Pod Point's stock, which has suffered amid shifts in electric vehicle take-up.
Money latest: Will taxes need to rise in autumn budget? It operates thousands of EV charging points across the country, including many located in Tesco store car parks. The company floated its shares at 225p in November 2021, valuing it at about £350m, meaning that investors who have remained on its share register since then are nursing huge losses.
Erik Fairbairn, Pod Point's founder and then-chief executive, invested millions of pounds of his own money in its initial public offering. One leading Pod Point investor called the decision to recommend the offer "inevitable but disappointing" given that EDF already owns a 53% stake in the business.
EDF acquired a majority stake in Pod Point in 2020, through a joint venture with Legal & General Capital. Politics live: Spending review announcements and reaction L&G's asset management arm, along with other major City institutions such as Schroders, remain significant shareholders in the company.
A Pod Point Group Holdings spokesman declined to comment on Wednesday evening..
Amir Nisi
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