Partnership between Bird & Bird and Fortum continues – Bird & Bird advised Fortum in divesting Plugsurfing to Fleetcor Technologies

“It was a great pleasure to work with Fortum again. We were able to leverage our previous experience in the electric vehicle sector, having previously advised Fortum on the sale of the majority share of its public charging point operator (CPO), Fortum Recharge AS, for electric vehicles in the Nordics to Infracapital. Our cross-border team in Sweden, Netherlands, Finland, Germany and Poland worked seamlessly providing advice for Fortum in all jurisdictions.” says partner Mikko Ahonen.

Plugsurfing is a Pan-European platform, fostering sustainable mobility and a seamless driver experience. Their service connects over one million registered electric vehicle (EV) drivers to a network of 300,000 charging points. The Berlin-based startup was acquired by Fortum in 2018 and subsequently merged with part of the Charge and Drive business developed by Fortum. Plugsurfing has been grown as one of the portfolio companies in Fortum’s Valkea Growth Club.

“International scale transactions are always demanding and challenging projects. Once again at Fortum we could count on the strategic advice and legal support from the Bird & Bird team. In this challenging multi-jurisdictional case their sector expertise, local insight and seamless workflow across countries was crucial for the success of the project.” Client comments.

This acquisition will allow Plugsurfing to accelerate its growth in the EV ecosystem and expand into new segments. As the EV ecosystem grows in future, Plugsurfing offers FLEETCOR and its partners an opportunity to spearhead the transition from internal combustion engine vehicles to EVs.

You can read more about the deal in the following press releases:

Fortum to sell its e-mobility business Plugsurfing to Fleetcor Technologies | Fortum

A boost to EV growth: Plugsurfing acquired by FLEETCOR Technologies - Plugsurfing

Advising team at Bird & Bird

Finland: Mikko Ahonen, William Schofield, Iina-Mari Supperi and Marla Melin (Corporate), Juuso Pyy, Riku Rauhanen and Mikko Nurmisto (Commercial and IP), Ville Alahuhta (Tax) and Teea Kemppinen (Employment).

Netherlands: Michiel Wurfbain, Musa Dinç, Olav Klaver, René Rieter and Pauline Toet (Corporate).

Germany: Kai Kerger, Johanna Schindler and Tamara Böhmert (Corporate), Barbara Geck and Carina Seum (Employment)

Sweden: Katarina Åhlberg and Dasha Arntyr (employment).

Poland: Pawel Bajno and Michal Blaszkiewicz (Corporate) and Michal Salajczyk (Commercial and IP).