Drake Star Partners acts as financial advisor to Wallbox (NYSE:WBX) on its combination with Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE: KCAC)

  • Year
    October/2021
  • Sector
    Mobility & Sustainability Mobility
  • Our Mission
    Financial Advisor to Wallbox

SPAIN | USA, October 7, 2021 – Wallboxa leading provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging and energy management solutions worldwide, today announced it has completed its business combination with Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE: KCAC), a special purpose acquisition company. The business combination was approved by Kensington stockholders in a special meeting held on September 30, 2021 and formally closed on October 1, 2021. Wallbox shares started trading on October 4th 2021 on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “WBX” and warrants will trade under the ticker symbol “WBX.WS”.

Wallbox offers EV charging and energy management solutions for residential, semi-public, and public use. The company’s product line-up includes Quasar, the world’s first DC bidirectional charger for home use; Supernova and Hypernova, DC fast and ultrafast chargers for public use; and a suite of AC charging solutions and smart energy management software. Ahead of budgeted expectations, Wallbox closed the first half of 2021 with more than 300% YoY revenue growth, propelled by its global expansion, an array of strategic alliances and steadily growing market tailwinds for EVs and charging infrastructure worldwide.

With nine offices across three continents and a presence in more than 80 countries, Wallbox has sold more than 200,000 charging units since its founding in 2015. One of the only truly global players in its industry, Wallbox operates a vertically integrated supply chain, managing its production internally. This has allowed Wallbox better gross margins over its peers in the EV charging market, and has enabled the company to sustain production despite COVID and global chip shortage-related supply challenges. The company currently manufactures its products in Europe and China, and recently announced the addition of a U.S. manufacturing facility in Arlington, Texas, which is slated to begin production in 2022.

“Entering the public markets was a natural next step for our company, as the demand for EV charging and energy management infrastructure is growing steadily around the world,” said Enric Asunción, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Wallbox. “The transaction grants Wallbox the necessary resources to fund our continued global expansion and further advance the innovation of both existing and new solutions for private, public and corporate use. While this is a great milestone, our mission remains the same – accelerating the transition to greener energy consumption worldwide.”

The transaction will result in gross proceeds of approximately $252 million to Wallbox. Funds from the transaction are expected to support the company’s strategic growth initiatives, including accelerated expansion in the U.S. by increasing investment in the product development and certifications, while also maintaining its path to profitability.

“We take great pride in our focus on investing in automotive innovation, and we are thrilled to reach the completion of our business combination with Wallbox, which we feel has a truly unique value proposition, technology advantage, and steadily growing market traction across EV charging and energy management,” said Justin Mirro, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kensington II. “As governments, consumers and businesses around the world continue to push for the widespread adoption of electric vehicles and more sustainable energy use, Wallbox is positioned to become a leading supplier of solutions to bring about the future of energy and transportation.”

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP served as legal advisor to Kensington and Latham and Watkins LLP served as legal advisor to Wallbox. Houthoff and Loyens & Loeff advised Kensington and Wallbox, respectively, on matters of Dutch law and Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira, S.L.P. advised Kensington on matters of Spanish law. UBS Securities LLC, Stifel Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated and Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated served as financial advisors to Kensington and Barclays Capital Inc. and Drake Star Partners served as financial advisors to Wallbox. UBS Securities LLC and Barclays Capital Inc. served as joint placement agents on the PIPE offering.

 

For further inquiries, please contact:

Christophe Morvan, Managing Partner at Drake Star Partners

christophe.morvan @drakestar.com  +33 687 990 537

 

Vitaly Golomb, Partner at Drake Star Partners

vitaly.golomb@drakestar.com +1 415 683 6865

 

About Wallbox

Wallbox is a global technology company, dedicated to changing the way the world uses energy. Wallbox creates advanced electric vehicle charging and energy management systems that redefine users’ relationship to the grid. Wallbox goes beyond electric vehicle charging to give users the power to control their consumption, save money, and live more sustainably.

Wallbox offers a complete portfolio of charging and energy management solutions for residential, semi-public and public use in more than 80 countries. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Barcelona, the company now employs over 700 people in its offices in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

For additional information, please visit www.wallbox.com.

About Kensington

Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE: KCAC) was a special purpose acquisition company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, stock purchase or similar business combination with a business in the automotive and automotive-related sector. The company was sponsored by Kensington Capital Partners (“KCP”) and the management team of Justin Mirro, Bob Remenar, Simon Boag, and Dan Huber. The company was also supported by a board of independent directors including Tom LaSorda, Nicole Nason, Anders Pettersson, Mitch Quain, Don Runkle, and Matt Simoncini. The Kensington team has completed over 70 automotive transactions and has over 300 years of combined experience leading some of the largest automotive companies in the world.

For additional information, please visit www.autospac.com.

About Drake Star Partners

Drake Star is an award-winning global tech investment bank that has completed over 400 transactions since 2013. Drake Star team of over 100 senior professionals across offices in New York, London, Paris, Munich, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Berlin, Geneva, Dubai*, and Singapore* focuses on mergers & acquisitions and corporate finance services worldwide in Consumer & Retail Technology, Digital Media, FinTech, Mobility & Sustainability, Software/SaaS, Digital Services, and Industrial Tech sectors.

Drake Star Partners is the marketing name for the global investment bank Drake Star Partners Limited and its subsidiaries and affiliates. In the USA, all securities are transacted through Drake Star Securities LLC. In the USA, Drake Star Securities LLC is regulated by FINRA and is a member of SIPC. Drake Star UK Limited (FRN 942020) is an appointed representative of Kession Capital Ltd (FRN582160) which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. © 2016 Drake Star Partners Limited.

www.drakestar.com

*Partner Offices

Inquiries

For further inquiries, please contact:

Christophe Morvan Full
Biography
Christophe Morvan
Managing Partner

FinTech

Software/SaaS

Digital Services

Paris