Business

EV charger maker Tritium survives after Indian buyer bags $45 million bargain

- August 12, 2024 2 MIN READ
Image: Tritium
Brisbane-based electric vehicle charger manufacture Tritium will live, but under new Indian owners.

New Delhi-based EV charger manufacturer Exicom has scored a bargain, snapping up the rival business, at one stage worth $2 billion before it was handed to administrators in April, for $45 million (US$30m).

The acquisition will save around 300 Australian jobs, but will leave investors and creditors mostly out of pocket.

Tritium was founded in 2001 by e-mobility pioneers Dr David Finn, James Kennedy, and Dr Paul Sernia, and focused on designing and manufacturing proprietary hardware for DC fast charging.

It was touted by the federal government and prime minister Anthony Albanese as an example of its signature Future Made in Australia Act just weeks before the company collapsed, but appeals for federal co-investment support as the business looked to recapitalise were turned down.

Three years ago, Tritium listed on the Nasdaq exchange under a deal with a US-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that valued the business at the time at A$1.55 billion (US$1.2bn).

At one stage in 2022, Tritium was worth more than $2 billion as a listed company, but by early 2024 amid capital concerns, its shares had plunged. The sale is something of a win for the receivers, given the listed company plunged to a market cap of less than US$4 million (A$6.2m).

The 23-year-old business imploded four months ago after attempts to find a buyer fell through as it teetered on the brink of insolvency, and its lenders pushed Tritium into receivership.

The Australian tech and manufacturing business has sold more than 13,000 DC fast chargers into 47 countries across the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Its engineering team is based in Brisbane, with a manufacturing plant in Tennessee, USA.

Exicom CEO Anant Nahata said the acquisition expands his company’s global reach beyond Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and unlocks substantial long-term growth.

“This acquisition is in line with Exicom’s strategic vision to be a key contributor to the world of tomorrow by enabling an emission free future for mobility,” he said.

“Exicom and Tritium have a complementary sales and product footprint and have each established leadership in their respective regions. We look forward to working with Tritium’s employees, customers, partners and other stakeholders to grow the business further .”

Tritium’s backers include coal billionaire Trevor St Baker through his private fund, the St Baker Energy Innovation Fund. He was an early investor in Tritium and up until the Nasdaq listing, its largest shareholder, at around a 26% stake. He was also a major lender to the business as it struggled with capital and profitability.

St Baker is believed to have poured around $100 million into Tritium. The company had debts exceeding $500 million.

Tritium’s most notable client was film director James Cameron, with Tritium supplying the battery management system for his Australian-made “Deepsea Challenger” submersible, which descended to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in 2012.

Receivers McGrathNicol have been contacted for comment. We’ll update this story if we receive a response.