EV charging firm Allego to go public via Apollo-backed blank-check deal

(Reuters) - European electric vehicle charging company Allego will go public through a merger with a blank-check firm backed by private equity giant Apollo Global Inc, in a deal valuing the equity of the combined company at $3.14 billion.

The deal with Spartan Acquisition Corp III announced on Wednesday will generate proceeds of $702 million, with $150 million coming from a private investment in public equity (PIPE) transaction.

Investors in the PIPE deal include British investor Ian Osborne's Hedosophia, funds and accounts managed by private equity firm ECP, EV company Fisker Inc and affiliates of Apollo.

The funds will used to execute the combined entity's expansion plans, Allego said.

Founded in 2013, Allego was acquired by asset manager and global investor Meridiam in 2018. It has deployed more than 26,000 charging ports across 12 European countries.

Demand for companies in the EV space has surged in recent years, fueled in part by a green push globally. Lucid Group Inc started trading on the Nasdaq earlier this week after completing its $24 billion merger with a blank-check company backed by Wall Street dealmaker Michael Klein.

Blank-check vehicles, or special purpose acquisition companies, use the capital they raise through their initial public offerings to buy and merge with a private company, in a deal that then takes it public.

Allego will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "ALLG."

(Reporting by Niket Nishant and Sohini Podder in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Aditya Soni)