Better Place, a Palo Alto, California-based global provider of electric car networks, has secured $200m in Series C equity financing.
Backers include new investors GE and UBS AG and existing shareholders Israel Corp., HSBC Group, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, VantagePoint Capital Partners, Ofer Group and Maniv Energy Capital. Founded in 2007, Better Place has raised more than $750m in equity funding globally and this latest investment, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2011, nearly doubles its valuation to $2.25 billion (post money valuation on a fully diluted basis) since the last financing in January 2010.
Led by Shai Agassi, Founder and CEO, and Idan Ofer, Chairman, the company owns and operates a network of battery switch stations and public/personal charge spots, as well as supplies batteries.
Better Place intends to use the capital to expand into Western Europe where it has more than 100 employees. The company, which recently opened an office in Paris to serve as its European headquarters, will launch its initial commercial service in Israel and Denmark early next year. Better Place is also continuing to advance deployment projects in Northern California, Southern China, Japan, Ontario, Canada, and Hawaii and plans to begin initial commercial service in the second quarter of 2012 in Australia, starting in Canberra.
FinSMEs
13/11/2011