German carmaker BMW is planning to buy a 2 percent stake in Britain’s Chargemaster, a provider of electric vehicle charging points, according to a source close to the deal.
The agreement will be announced before the launch of BMW’s i3 electric vehicle on Monday, said the source, who declined to say how much the deal was worth.
Britain’s Sky News said the deal was worth around 500,000 pounds.
Chargemaster designs, manufactures and markets charging points for domestic, commercial and public use. It also supplies software, installation and maintenance services.
In 2012 Chargemaster supplied over 2,800 charging points, generating revenue of 3.6 million pounds.
BMW and Chargemaster both declined to comment on the deal.
The British company which is based near Luton, some 30 miles north of central London, recently announced its intention to float on London’s junior AIM market to fund expansion.
Chargemaster hopes to cash in on a recent European Commission ruling demanding that around 800,000 charging points are installed across Europe by 2020.
Carmakers across Europe have been increasing their range of plug-in vehicles to help meet tougher emissions targets.
