ECOtality announced today that it has entered a definitive agreement to purchase all the assets and business of Minit-Charger – which is a subsidiary of Edison International, a NYSE-listed company – for $3 million. This strategic acquisition, combined with the previously announced acquisitions of Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec), Innergy Power Corporation and Fuel Cell Store, will provide the Company with a revenue base of subsidiaries who have a collective trailing twelve month revenues of $14.55 million for the period ending the third quarter of this year. ECOtality expects to close the acquisition within the next week.
Since its beginning over nine years ago, Minit-Charger has generated more than $40 million product sales and earned $5.16 million in revenues for the trailing twelve month period ending September 30 of this year. The North American industrial fast battery charger market revenues grew 16% from 2005 to 2006 and is expected to continue increasing 17% from 2006 to 2007 according to Frost & Sullivan. The compound annual growth rate of the industry is anticipated to reach 18.9% from 2006 to 2013.
Jonathan Read, President and CEO of ECOtality, stated, “The acquisition of Minit-Charger, as well as our previous acquisition of eTec, exemplifies ECOtality’s strategy to acquire and advance revenue-generating companies with accretive technologies that reduce the environmental impacts of transportation and energy production. With the increased attention and growth in the electric vehicle market, we are committed to the commercial development of fast charging and clean electric propulsion systems and will explore additional transportation applications for the Minit-Charger and eTec Supercharge technologies.”
eTec, a subsidiary of ECOtality, will be managing every aspect of the Minit-Charger business after the acquisition. The subsidiary will expand the company’s fast charging product line and market share in the area of clean electric transportation and infrastructure solutions by joining the Minit-Charger line of battery fast chargers for lift trucks and material handling systems with the eTec SuperCharge™ line of battery fast chargers for airport ground support equipment. Presently, the eTec SuperCharge technology is utilized in airport ground support equipment, neighborhood electric vehicle operations, and marine and transit applications.
“By leveraging the synergies between the Minit-Charger and eTec SuperCharge technologies, we will increase our presence in the battery and fast-charge markets and aggressively explore and develop additional applications for plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle markets and infrastructures. With the resources of ECOtality, eTec will provide superior customer service to new and existing customers and supply our fast charge systems at the lowest possible cost as we further drive commercial adoption of clean fast charge technologies,” stated Don Karner, President of eTec.
Minit-Charger has been very successful since launch as the company has operated for more than 25 million charger-shift hours. There are over 1,000 Minit-Charger systems in operation that power more than 3,000 lift trucks in the United States and Canada.
Let us hear your thoughts below: Ecotality Message Board