Yahoo Finance Energy giant EDF draws up plans to float UK tech firm Pod Point
EDF, the energy giant backed by the French state, is planning to take British technology firm Pod Point public in a bid to capitalise on electric vehicle (EV) demand.
The company, which acquired Pod less than a year ago, is working with Barclays for the stock market float, Sky News first reported.
It has told investment bankers to start working on the timing and structure of a public listing, although plans are said to be at an early stage.
Pod Point is the largest provider of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the UK, powering more than 459 million miles of electric driving with a network of almost 4,000 charging bays.
Sources told Sky that EDF would be likely to retain a large stake in Pod Point after an initial public offering (IPO) as it aims to be the leading energy company for electric mobility in the UK, France, Belgium and Italy.
The IPO could value Pod Point at hundreds of millions of pounds.
In a statement, a Pod Point spokeswoman said: "We are of course very pleased that the market for electric vehicles has continued to grow so strongly over the course of a very challenging year.
"Unfortunately, we are unable to comment on questions relating to investment as these enquiries are handled directly by our parent company EDF."
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It comes as the UK government has established a 2030 target in November for banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars as the shift to electric vehicles continues to boom. This was five years earlier than planned.
UK prime minister Boris Johnson had previously moved the deadline to ban such cars from 2040 to 2035 in February last year. The government is set also to provide around £500m funding for charging infrastructure from next year.
The move is not expected to apply to some hybrid cars which use a mixture of electric and fossil fuel propulsion, which could still be sold until 2035.
The UK is aiming to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said that last year was the best so far for electric cars in the UK as the market share grew to 10.7%.
"Investment in charging infrastructure and battery gigafactories [is] now essential to reboot industry and meet post-Brexit electrification challenge," the SMMT said.
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