BLNK makes big buy)
Blink Charging's deal for SemaConnect looks very strong to Needham
Jun. 15, 2022 7:27 AM ET
Blink Charging Co. (BLNK)
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Needham weighed in on the announcement by Blink Charging Co. (NASDAQ:
BLNK) that it was acquiring SemaConnect for $200M. The deal for the vertically integrated provider of charging infrastructure in North America was noted to add ~13,000 EV chargers at over 1,800 sites and over 150K registered EV driver members to the company's mix.
Analyst Vikram Baghi and team estimated that BLNK paid ~17X EV/2021 sales for the business, which noted to be slightly below the average multiple of an EV charging peer group.
SemaConnect's DCFC technology is said to be more advanced than BLNK's, which Needham thinks can reduce time to market at a lower R&D burden. BLNK also gained 48 engineers through the acquisition in a tight talent market, as well as landing access to an expansive client and customer base which includes heavyweights like CBRE.
"We see eligibility for NEVI funding from newfound eligibility under the Buy America requirement (see note) as the biggest near-term deal benefits, as does management. Benefits we see are: manufacturing capacity, an expanded client and customer base, more developed DCFC tech, talented employee pool, and potential upsell opportunities to existing customers which will all strengthen BLNK's relative competitive position.
SemaConnect's best in-class margins combined with potential for BLNK to cut its level 2 hardware COGS by ~30% should allow the company to reach mid-30's gross margin sooner."
Needham maintained a Buy rating on BLNK following the deal and raised its price target to $27 from $25. That PT implies almost 80% upside from the current price.
Shares of BLNK rose 0.20% premarket to $15.06 vs. the 52-week trading range of $13.60 to $49.00.
Calling The Bottom in BLNK!