EVgo Charging Network Reportedly Close to Merger With SPAC

Shares of special purpose acquisition company Climate Change Crisis Real Impact CLII rocketed Friday after a media report said it was close to a deal to merge with EVgo Services.

EVgo is a charging network for electric vehicles powered by renewable energy. Bloomberg attributed the report to knowledgeable sources.

The merger would value the combined entity in excess of $2 billion, one of the sources said. The transaction could be unveiled as soon as Friday, the sources said.

Climate Change shares recently traded at $20.65, up 55%. 

The SPAC had climbed 35% from its November inception through Thursday. It raised $230 million in funding, Bloomberg reports. 

Investors are going gonzo over electric-vehicle stocks, based on the view that EVs will ultimately replace internal-combustion-powered vehicles.

EVgo began in 2010 and has more than 800 fast-charging facilities in 34 states, the company says. It cites more than 200,000 customers in addition to a partner roster including BMW, BMWYY General Motors,  (GM) - Get Report Nissan Motor NSANY and Uber Technologies.  (UBER) - Get Report

The biggest stock in the EV space is Tesla,  (TSLA) - Get Report of course. 

But at least one analyst, Morningstar's David Whiston, sees it as overvalued. He puts fair value at $306 a share, compared with the Palo Alto, Calif., electric-vehicle producer's recent market quote of $835.

“Tesla has a chance to be the dominant electric vehicle firm long term and is a leading autonomous vehicle player as well as a vertically integrated sustainable energy company with energy generation and storage products," Whiston wrote in a commentary last month. 

["But] we do not see it having mass-market volume this decade.”