Shell unit will acquire EV charging company Volta from Volta for approximately $169 Million

(Reuters) -Volta Inc announced Wednesday that a unit from Shell Plc would acquire the operator of the electric vehicle charging network (EVC) in an all-cash deal worth approximately $169 million.

Volta announced that Shell USA Inc will purchase all outstanding shares of Class-A common stock of Volta at 86 cents per share in a deal that is expected close in the first half year.

Volta’s shares rose more than 18% to 86 cents per day after it was merged with Tortoise Acquisition Corp II.

Shell and other companies like France’s EDF, Norway’s Statkraft and France’s EDF have been investing in EV charger infrastructure to cash in on the rising demand for EVs.

The announcement follows other investments made in the EV charging infrastructure area, including Mercedes-Benz’s plan to invest billions of euro to build 10,000 fast-charging stations across North America, Europe, China and Asia by 2030.

Shell USA will provide loans to Volta as part of the agreement.

Goldman Sachs and Barclays Capital served as advisers to Volta, while Shearman & Sterling LLP served as its legal adviser.

(Reporting from Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru. Editing by Vinay Dawivedi, Shailesh Kuber.