Ecotality - the sponsor of the Ecotality Life publication you are currently reading - has announced plans to acquire Minit-Charger, a subsidiary of publicly traded Edison International, for $3 million in cash and stock.
Minit-Charger, based in Irvine, Calif., makes chargers for rechargeable lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries that can be used in electric light construction vehicles like forklifts, and counts Home Depot, Costco Wholesale, and Toyota Motor among its customers.
Here’s what various publications are saying about the deal:
CNET News.com says, “It’s a broadening of focus for the energy technology company that seems logical. Batteries play a leading role in the development of energy-efficient vehicles. When it comes to plug-in electric vehicles, one of the biggest setbacks is the limited range per charge. This is why electric vehicles have so far only really found a niche market in places that don’t require vehicles to travel long distances, like warehouse facilities or municipalities.”
The Phoenix Business Journal says Ecotality “is continuing on its path of holistic, environmentally friendly technology” with the acquisition.
The Arizona Republic says Ecotality is “power-hungry - but only for alternative power,” adding this rather colorful description of the company’s acquisitive nature: “Like some sort of publicly traded Pac-Man, the company has been navigating the alternative-energy maze, chomping down small companies like little energy pellets.”
GreentechMedia.com notes that the Minit-Charger deal is Ecotality’s fourth acquisition this year, and is skeptical, saying “as Ecotality fills out its green portfolio, investors question whether the company is taking on too much risk.”
Me? I kind of like Ecotality’s strategy. The industrialized world is replete with small alternative-energy/greentech/cleantech companies, many of them doing some very innovative things, but few of them get noticed. By bringing several such companies, in related niches, under one umbrella, Ecotality creates an opportunity to push them to the forefront.
