Drake Star Partners Advises Etergo On Its Sale To Ola Electric Mobility In Another Intercontinental Landmark Electric Mobility Transaction

AMSTERDAM | BANGALORE | May 27, 2020 Ola Electric Mobility Pvt Ltd (“Ola Electric Mobility”), the leading Indian electric mobility company backed by SoftBank, today announced the acquisition of Etergo BV, the very advanced, innovative and ingenious electric scooter OEM, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. With this transaction, Ola Electric Mobility has also announced its entry into the premium electric two-wheeler market, both globally and nationally, by leveraging Etergo’s leading design and engineering skills.

Drake Star Partners acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Etergo on this cross-border transaction. Following numerous landmark deals within the Mobility ecosystem, and despite the current challenging market conditions due to COVID-19, Drake Star Partners successfully leveraged its sector-expertise and its global investor network to determine the best strategic partner possible for Etergo to achieve its international growth ambitions. This transaction marks the Drake Star Mobility and Energy Transition team’s second recent cross-border deal in the fast-growing electric two-wheeler space, indicating its leading M&A advisory expertise in the Mobility sector.

Founded in 2014, Etergo has developed an all-electric state-of-the-art AppScooter, referred to as “the Dutch Tesla on two wheels”, which has won multiple awards across the world for its innovative design and engineering. First revealed in 2018, AppScooter uses swappable high-energy density batteries to deliver a range up to 240km and class-leading acceleration.

In line with its ambitions to transform the 100-million+ global two-wheeler market, including the 20-million+ Indian two-wheeler market, into the clean energy, digital mobility future, Ola Electric aims to launch its global electric two-wheeler in India in 2021. This acquisition will further bolster Ola Electric’s strong engineering and design capabilities with the Etergo team’s extensive vehicle development experience with leading automotive companies like Tesla, General Motors, Ferrari, Jaguar, and BMW. Etergo’s team will continue to be based out of Amsterdam as they join Ola Electric. By joining forces, Ola Electric Mobility and Etergo are best positioned to reach its international strategic ambitions of becoming the world’s leading electric two-wheeler manufacturer.

Bhavish Agarwal, Founder & Chairman, Ola Electric said, “The future of mobility is electric, and the post-COVID-19 world presents an opportunity for us to accelerate the adoption of electric mobility globally. Every year, almost twice the number of two-wheelers are sold across the world compared to cars. With electric, digitally connected capabilities, two-wheelers will further emerge as the most preferred urban mobility paradigm around the world and empower every consumer. We look forward to building the best global capabilities in engineering, design, and manufacturing for these products to be made here in India.”

He added, “I am very excited to welcome Bart, Marijn, and the entire Etergo team to Ola Electric and look forward to working closely with them to build towards our vision of making electric mobility, a reality at scale.”

Bart Jacobsz Rosier, Co-founder & CEO, Etergo BV said, “Ola is one of the world’s most admired mobility companies and has led the way for many innovations in the space, including its bold ambition for electric mobility. We are looking forward to joining Ola Electric and together, reimagining electric mobility to transform the way the world moves!”

Frank Verbeek, the Managing Partner of Drake Star Partners and head of the Amsterdam office, noted: “Electric mobility is unstoppable. Even more so when the best of many worlds are put together to produce high quality, high tech and highly smart connectivity into products affordable for millions of smart and conscious consumers. Safety, range, comfort, functionality, and abilities to commercialize all these relevant USP’s make this transaction again another deal with winners only. We remain eager to share our insights and knowledge with founders, shareholders and/or management teams that create the mobility of the future.”

Drake Star Partners team: Frank Verbeek, Robert Wilhelm, Thomas Smal, and Nicolas Magnus

Enquiries

For more information, please contact Frank Verbeek or Sherief Rahim or Thomas Smal: frank.verbeek@drakestar.com, sherief.rahim@drakestar.com, thomas.smal@drakestar.com

About Etergo

Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Etergo BV is the founding company of AppScooter, the innovative and ingenious electric scooter that merges superior range and storage with supreme quality and style. The company was founded in 2014 by Bart Jacobsz Rosier and Marijn Flipse with a mission to accelerate the global transition towards sustainable energy and transportation by making personal smart transport as effortless, efficient, and fun as huma(chin)n(e)ly possible.

About Ola Electric

Ola Electric Mobility Pvt Ltd develops solutions to make Electric Mobility viable at scale, enabling more clean kilometres on Indian and global roads. Ola Electric is backed by several global investors, including Ola, India’s leading mobile platform, and one of the world’s largest ride-hailing companies.