Shell USA Inc.’s shareholders Wednesday approved the acquisition of Volta Inc., a San Francisco maker of electric-vehicle (EV) chargers with a media display that delivers advertising revenue.
The Volta company will survive in the merger as a wholly owned unit of Shell USA.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, Volta stockholders will receive 86 cents in cash for each share of Volta Class A common stock upon the completion of the merger, which the companies expect to close around March 31.
As expected, shareholders of Volta Class A common stock voted in favor of the merger at a special meeting held Wednesday, Volta said.
Shell USA's acquisition of San Francisco-based Volta could catapult Shell to the leading position in EV charging in the United States.
Volta brings to Shell USA the technology the oil company needs to accelerate its position in the the growing U.S. EV charging industry, and Shell brings capital and access to locations consumers are accustomed to visiting for fuel. To date, Volta has worked with local governments, retailers and commercial developers to install its charging stalls in convenient locations, with many near large retailers and some earmarked for disadvantaged areas. Even before Volta’s charging stalls gain traction as chargers, the media displays are generating revenue from advertising.
Volta’s media revenue accounted for $12.3 million of $14.4 million in total revenue Volta achieved in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2022, the most recent period for which result are available. Revenue from charging network operations generated $38,000 in third-quarter 2022, and revenue from network development generated $1.9 million in the third quarter, up from $1.1 million in the same quarter of 2021, Volta said.
The company posted a net loss of $42.5 million in third-quarter 2022, compared to a loss of $69.7 million in the prior-year period.
Volta’s revenue-driven business model made the company attractive to Shell USA, a unit of Shell Plc. Shell Plc’s new CEO Wael Sawan has said he doesn’t want the company’s oil-and-gas business to subsidize its clean energy business, including EV.
The Volta acquisition is expected to dramatically ease Shell USA’s entry into EV charging in the United States. Besides revenue from its media displays, Volta has released a predictive analytics tool designed to assist in selecting sites well suited for EV chargers.
Acquiring Volta also would assist in Shell’s goal of cutting in half absolute emissions from its own operations by 2030 compared with 2016 levels. The company achieved a 30% reduction in emissions by the end of 2022, according to a Shell company statement. The company’s energy transition strategy received the support of 89% of shareholders who voted in 2021 and 80% in 2022, the company said.
After the Volta merger transaction is completed, Volta common stock will be delisted the New York Stock Exchange and de-registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Volta said.