According to foreign media reports, electric car maker Bedeo has agreed to buy British start-up Protean Electric from Evergrande Group Automotive subsidiary. On November 4, Evergrande New Energy vehicle issued a statement confirming the news, but did not disclose the terms of the deal. The acquisition of Bedeo, which mainly provides light commercial vehicles and zero-emission transport technology, will help Bedeo, which is focused on the European market, expand into Asia and the US.
Protean is a subsidiary of (National Electric Vehicle Sweden,NEVS, a Swedish subsidiary of Evergrande New Energy vehicles. It is reported that Guoneng is also negotiating sales or other financing with European and American companies to find its own new employer.
Protean, which mainly produces hub motors for electric cars, self-driving vehicles and commercial vans, has more than 150 employees in the UK, China and the US and has obtained more than 200 patents. According to the Protean website, Andrew Whitehead, the company's chief executive, was a former designer of Honda's Formula one racing engine.
According to Evergrande's annual report in 2019, it bought Protean, for $58 million in 2019, one of a series of deals Evergrande has made in its foray into electric vehicles.
Evergrande New Energy vehicles, which has a market capitalization of about HK $35 billion (US $4.5 billion), rose 3.1 per cent in Hong Kong on November 4.
Founded by Turkish engineer Osman Boyner and headquartered in London, Bedeo has developed the powertrain of electric vehicles and is seeking to expand the application of its technology in marine and aviation. In 2019, the company signed a contract to provide power transmission for light commercial vehicles produced by the PSA Group (now Stellantis).
In April, Bedeo received a growth capital investment from Ludgate Investments, an investment management company focused on sustainable development in Europe.
"Protean is the first acquisition under Bedeo's expansion and growth strategy," Boyner said in a statement. Bedeo has a strong balance sheet and will continue to explore attractive strategies and collaborative acquisition opportunities in the electrification sector. "
On November 4th, Guoneng signed an autopilot cooperation agreement with Terranet as well as an acquisition agreement with Bedeo. The two companies hope to combine Terranet's VoxelFlowTM system with Guoneng's self-driving system PONS, which will enable self-driving cars to drive more smoothly and safely in densely populated areas, a key step towards full self-driving.
