DIF Capital Partners, investing on behalf of its latest core-plus mid-market infrastructure fund, has acquired a majority stake in French electric vehicle (EV) charging operator Bump.
The manager’s DIF Core-plus Infrastructure Fund III fund invested an undisclosed amount to buy a 55% stake in the Paris-headquartered charge point operator.
Bump designs, installs, operates and owns EV charging infrastructure. The company expects to a portfolio of over 1,700 charge points installed or signed by the end of the year.
DIF said its investment will support the company in significantly growing the portfolio of charge points with the “ambition to be one of France’s market leaders in the fast-growing B2B segment”.
The investment in Bump is DIF’s second investment in the EV charging sector. Last year, DIF bought a majority stake in Plugit, a Finnish EV charging infrastructure company.
Willem Jansonius, partner and head of investments for the DIF core-plus infrastructure fund strategy, said: “DIF believes that the electrification of transportation will play a critical role in reducing carbon emissions.
“We are impressed by the management team of Bump and what the Company has realised to date. We are excited to invest alongside the existing shareholders to speed up the rollout of charging infrastructure across France, which is expected to become the second largest EV charging market in Europe.”
François Oudot, CEO of Bump, said: “We are excited about this opportunity to accelerate our growth and tap the booming French EV market. Partnering with DIF will enable us to secure long-term financial resources and benefit from their experience in supporting large capex roll-out programmes.”
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