O’Melveny Advises SK E&S in Acquisition of EverCharge

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SEOUL—March 25, 2022—O’Melveny advised Korea-based SK E&S, a global leader in clean energy solutions, in its acquisition of California-based EverCharge, a leading EV charging solution provider in the U.S.

The transaction was announced on March 23.

This is the first time a Korean company has acquired an EV charging company based in the U.S.

Established in 1999 and headquartered in Seoul, SK E&S is Korea's largest privately-owned liquefied natural gas (LNG) player and mainly invests in four growth sectors: Renewables, Energy Solution, Hydrogen, and Clean LNG. It is an affiliate of SK Group, one of Korea’s top three business conglomerates with about $137 billion in annual global revenue and more than 140,000 employees worldwide as of 2021.

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, EverCharge has installed and is operating 4,600 EV chargers across North America including the U.S. and Canada.

The O’Melveny team advising SK E&S is led by partners Daniel Kim and Woojae Kim, and associates Hae-in Park and Keith Guo, with support from partners Todd Boes, Bob Fisher, Jeff Walbridge, counsel Billy Abbott, and associates Maya Spitzer and John Peshtaz.

About O’Melveny

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Contact:

Brandon Jacobsen
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
+1 213 430 8024
bjacobsen@omm.com

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SK E&S issued the following release via PR Newswire:

"Entry into the U.S. EV Charging Market" SK E&S Acquires EverCharge, a Leading U.S. EV Charging Solutions Provider

SEOUL, South Korea, March 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SK E&S is entering the U.S. electric vehicle charging market.

On March 23, SK E&S announced the acquisition of EverCharge, a leading EV charging solution provider in the U.S.

This is the first time a Korean company has acquired the management rights of an EV charging company based in the U.S.

Founded in 2013 in California, EverCharge is a charging solutions provider that manufactures EV chargers and operates charging stations. Currently, the company has installed and is operating 4,600 EV chargers across North America including the U.S. and Canada.

On March 8, SK E&S made an official announcement that it will finance SK E&S Americas with $400 million to invest in energy solutions businesses in the U.S., which will be used to acquire EverCharge and make additional investments in the energy solution sector.

EverCharge provides expertise in scalable installation and deployment of EV charging in parking facilities including workplaces, multi-family communities and commercial fleet segments.

EverCharge was the industry's first electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) to receive the California Type Evaluation Program (CTEP) certification required by the state for an EV charger. EverCharge's chargers are connected by a mesh network that allows greater coverage than conventional Wi-Fi and works even in the harshest underground environments, allowing for reliable operations of chargers in parking garages and other locations.

Another aspect that makes the company more competitive is its capability of electric power load management. It enables 5 times more chargers to be installed and operated than traditional charging systems. An EV charger used to be installed considering its maximum power output, which resulted in limited electric circumstance and installation of a fewer number of chargers. This was the biggest pain point of EV users.

EverCharge uses "dynamic load management" to address this challenge. The solution is designed to effectively manage and control the electric power load of a building as well as to analyze charging patterns of EVs to efficiently allocate available power to EVs so that more chargers can be installed and operated with flexibility without utility upgrade.

"The EV charging solution including manufacturing, installation, service and aftersales service of chargers enables significant optimization for our customer base which is growing rapidly and ultimately, contributes to rapid deployment of EV fleets," said Jason Appelbaum, CEO of EverCharge.

As of 2020, the total number of vehicles on the road in the U.S. was approximately 240 million and of which, EVs accounted for less than 1% (1.74 million). The U.S. EV market is projected to grow remarkably by more than 15 times in a decade to 26 million by 2030. In addition, the EV charging infrastructure market is expected to grow fast at an annual rate of 27% on average from 2 million chargers in 2020 to 20 million in 2030. *

(*Source: ICCT_International Council on Clean Transportation. July 2021)

SK E&S said this acquisition will help it to respond effectively to the rapid growth of the EV charging market in the U.S. and it aims at growing into a "global top-tier energy solution provider" by connecting the business to its existing business.

With the acquisition of Key Capture Energy (KCE), a U.S. grid solution provider, and investments in Rev Renewables, a U.S. energy solution provider, last year, the Korean energy company plans to provide comprehensive energy solution service that offers grid, distributed energy resource and mobility all together in the U.S.

Increases in renewables energy power generation, EVs on the road, distributed energy resources and changing consumer usage patterns have presented emerging energy challenges and grid instability.

Energy solutions are expected to grow exponentially and as a new industry can address these challenges effectively by combining ESS(Energy Storage System) and AI(Artificial Intelligence).

"Entry into the U.S. EV charging market is a starting point for SK E&S to be transformed into a carbon neutral energy optimizer as it declared," Yu Jeong-joon, Vice Chairman of SK E&S said. He added, "I believe SK E&S will become a leading power solution company in the North American market within years as it leverages its energy solution business capabilities and synergy effects with SK Group."

About SK E&S

SK E&S, established in 1999 and based in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, is an affiliate of SK Group, one of the country's top three business conglomerates with about $137 billion in annual global revenue and more than 140,000 employees worldwide as of 2021. SK E&S is Korea's largest privately-owned liquefied natural gas (LNG) player with globally integrated value chain from upstream natural gas field to midstream LNG regasification terminal and LNG carriers and to downstream city gas distribution, power generation, and district heating cogeneration businesses in Korea. In addition to the strong LNG value chain, SK E&S invests mainly in four growth sectors: Renewables, Energy Solution, Hydrogen and Clean LNG with carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology. In the Renewables and Energy Solution sectors, SK E&S is a leading renewable energy generator with more than 2.5 GW of solar, wind, and fuel cell project portfolio in Korea, and it is expanding to Southeast Asian markets such as Vietnam, etc. SK E&S currently operates about 700 megawatt hours (MWh) energy storage both in Korea and the U.S., including the largest distributed battery energy storage system (BESS) portfolio in California. For more information on SK E&S, visit skens.com

About EverCharge

EverCharge is a nationwide solution provider of power-managed EV charging equipment designed to scale EV charging as needed at the lowest possible cost. Specializing in multi-family and fleet applications.

EverCharge offers its customers an easy and efficient way to bring EV charging into their property while leveraging the existing electrical infrastructure, providing more EV charging while preventing expensive utility upgrades. EverCharge's SmartPower technology maximizes the number of electric vehicles that can charge at any given time and eliminates other barriers like data connectivity. Powered by EverCharge's unmatched installation expertise making its vertically integrated approach the most cost-effective way to provide EV charging.

EverCharge was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, please visit EverCharge.com

Advisors

BofA Securities is acting as exclusive financial advisor to SK E&S, and Guggenheim Securities is acting as exclusive financial advisor to EverCharge. O'Melveny is serving as legal counsel to SK E&S, and McDermott Will & Emery is serving as legal counsel to EverCharge.