Wallbox makes the leap to the New York Stock Exchange

The transition towards electric mobility is increasingly an urgent necessity, and companies wanting to lead this future market are continuously proliferating. One of the most promising local players, Wallbox, has just taken a step forward to accelerate its growth and continue strengthening its position.

The Barcelona-based company has announced its listing on the New York Stock Exchange after reaching an agreement with Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. II, a US investment vehicle with the purpose of acquisition, known by the acronym SPAC. Kensington specializes in mergers, stock purchases, and business combinations of companies in the automotive sector.

The mechanism chosen by Wallbox to make the leap to the US stock market consists of the combination of its business with that of Kensington, making it possible for the Barcelona company to become a publicly traded company. The boards of directors of both companies have already approved the operation, which is expected to be completed during the third quarter. Upon closing of the operation, the resulting company will retain the name Wallbox and will trade under the ticker symbol WBX.

With this agreement, Wallbox has raised $330 million in financing, which includes a private investment of $100 million, fully subscribed by venture capital funds Janus Henderson Investors, Luxor Capital, Cathay Innovation, and Kensington. Likewise, Wallbox's valuation, excluding this capital increase, has reached $1.5 billion as a result of the business combination, becoming one of the few unicorns —start-up companies valued at over a billion— in Spain.

"Today marks a big step in the evolution of our global company," says Wallbox co-founder and CEO, Enric Asunción. "This operation with Kensington will allow us to significantly increase our product development and manufacturing capacity as we increase global sales," he adds.

A success story

Founded in 2015, Wallbox's mission is to facilitate the adoption of electric cars to make more sustainable use of energy in the short term. To do this, it designs, manufactures, and distributes intelligent charging solutions for electric vehicles, which can be used at home, in businesses, or on the street.

Since its birth, the company has sold more than 100,000 chargers. Iberdrola, its main institutional investor, has recently announced the acquisition of the first 1,000 Wallbox Supernova fast chargers. It will allocate them to its sustainable mobility plan, with which it plans to deploy more than 150,000 chargers in homes, businesses and public roads.

Its products are manufactured in Sant Andreu de la Barca and China. It will add a new plant in the Zona Franca of Barcelona during the fourth quarter of 2021, on a 16,800 square meter plot, where the logistics company Grupesa was located until now. It is also working to install a factory in the United States during 2022. With a presence in more than 60 countries, the workforce stands at 500 employees, distributed among the nine offices it has in Europe, Asia and America.