https://business.financialpost.com/
Electric vehicles will make up 15 per cent of all auto sales in a decade — that still leaves 85 per cent of the market to traditional cars
The rapid growth of the electric vehicle industry may be drawing headlines, but when it comes to drawing major investments, the internal combustion engine remains on solid footing.
In a deal that highlights the breadth of the traditional automotive industry, two Canadian investment funds on Tuesday announced a US$13.2-billion deal to purchase the leading global manufacturer of lead-acid batteries.
Toronto-based asset manager Brookfield Business Partners and pension manager Caisse de dêpôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ) along with other investors will jointly acquire 100 per cent of Ireland-based Johnson Controls’ automotive business — which shipped 154 million automotive lead-acid batteries in 2017.
Although the buyers described the asset as positioned to benefit from growth in electric vehicles, analysts said its business remains tied to vehicles with internal combustion engines.
“As positioned right now they’re not an electric vehicle type play,” said Brian Bernard, an analyst at Morningstar Research who covers Johnson Controls.
For the rest of this article: https://business.financialpost.com/commodities/energy/in-ev-era-brookfield-and-caisse-place-13-billion-bet-on-conventional-car-battery-maker