Toronto-based private equity firm Northleaf Capital Partners has agreed to invest $200 million – and acquire a controlling stake in – Venice-based EVPassport, Inc. an electric vehicle charging platform company.
EVPassport, which was founded three years ago, has developed a software platform to operate electric vehicle charging stations. The company also installs and operates charging stations and hubs for commercial and multifamily customers; as of last month, it had installed some 10,000 chargers in 35 states and Canada and Mexico.
The company bills itself as providing turnkey electric vehicle charging services for its clients. This starts with designing and installing electric vehicle charging stations – both the older standard 200-plus-volt charging stations that can provide an 80% charge in about four hours and the newer fast-charging stations that can charge a vehicle to 80% capacity within one hour. Once the chargers are installed, EVPassport operates those stations through its technology platform and also maintains them.
Last month, EVPassport announced its largest single charger installation contract to date at an Indian tribe-owned casino and resort in eastern San Diego County. The charging hub, to be developed in partnership with the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, will have more than 400 mid-range chargers and eight dual-port fast chargers; it could come online by next spring.
Besides the casino, EVPassport’s customers include San Diego-based Ace Parking, Chicago-based Millennium Garages, and Nuveen, a Chicago investment firm.
Northleaf Capital Partners is a private market investment firm with more than $23 billion in private equity, private credit and infrastructure commitments raised to date from public, pension plans, endowments, foundations, financial institutions and family offices. Northleaf sources, evaluates and manages private-markets investments, with a focus on mid-market companies and assets.
Besides its headquarters in Toronto, Northleaf has four offices in the United States – including Los Angeles – as well as Montreal, London, Melbourne, Australia and Tokyo.
Northleaf’s $200 million investment in EVPassport is actually being implemented through funds that it controls.
With the $200 million investment, EVPassport now becomes a major player in the electric vehicle charger installation market.
“We are thrilled to have the support of a global infrastructure investor like Northleaf as an endorsement of our vision, model, and the market opportunity ahead of us,” said Hooman Shahidi, co-founder and chief executive of EVPassport.
“Northleaf’s experience and resources will enable us to accelerate our growth, execute our business plan, and ensure the highest quality of service and reliability to our drivers and enterprise customers,” Shahidi continued. “With our focus on building a secure, dependable, and integrated charging network, we are strategically positioned to increase our market share through business and product innovation.”
For its part, Northleaf Capital Partners sees its investment as boosting its infrastructure investment portfolio. According to the announcement, Northleaf has invested $5 billion to date in more than 50 mid-market infrastructure assets. The program serves more than 80 institutional and family-office investors across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
“We’re excited to partner with EVPassport and apply our market knowledge and industry expertise to build out this critical infrastructure,” said Olivier Laganiere, managing director at Northleaf.
“This investment is an excellent fit with Northleaf’s infrastructure strategy, and our investors benefit from the long-term, contracted cashflow profile that underpins EVPassport’s business model.”
