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"Take a charge!" - launched in 2018 by the Russian service for renting external batteries for charging smartphones or other devices. The company installs machines in public places (cafes, clubs, shopping centers, etc.) where users can rent powerbanks. By April 1, 2021, the startup has about 3 thousand such machines in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Tula and other cities. Three-quarters of the stations are owned by franchisees.
Performance indicators
2023
According to RAS reports, the revenue of Take Charge! at the end of 2023 increased 2.6 times - to 1.86 billion rubles. And net profit increased 6.5 times and amounted to 170 million rubles with a profitability of about 9%. The company demonstrates positive financial metrics, including negative net debt and EBITDA of 250 million rubles, Vedomosti notes.
History
2024
Yandex bought Take Charge!
The company Yandex completed the acquisition of the "Take Charge!" charger rental service. According to the data with which I got acquainted in December 2024, TAdviser the agreement includes the transfer of more than 15 thousand stations located in 90 cities. Russia The main purpose of the transaction is to integrate the service into the Yandex ecosystem.
According to Kommersant, negotiations on the acquisition of Take Charge! Began after an unsuccessful attempt by the service to negotiate with MTS. Earlier, MTS launched its own similar project within the MTS Jurent ecosystem. According to market participants, the integration of the service into the ecosystem of a large company gives competitive advantages in the development of the network and improving the conditions for cooperation with partners in the placement of stations.
The Take Charge! Service, founded in 2018, initially positioned itself as an independent project. However, according to analysts, its financial stability has been declining in recent years. In September 2024, it became known about the transition of part of the franchisee - 1.5 thousand stations - to the MTS Yurent project, which created additional difficulties for further development.
According to experts, the cost of the Take Charge! business could range from 1.7 billion to 3.3 billion rubles, depending on the valuation method. Alexey Primak, founder of the First Institute of Financial and Investment Technologies, explained that with a comparative approach, the cost was calculated using a multiplier of 10 EV/EBITDA, which is typical for leaders in the high-tech sector. However, with a revenue approach, the indicator increased, given the prospects for growth in the service's revenue.
The integration of the Take Charge! service into the Yandex ecosystem will allow the company to strengthen its position in the urban mobility market. According to Nikolai Sedashov, managing partner of the Spektr analytical agency, Yandex can include the charging device rental service in the Yandex Go service or offer Yandex Plus subscribers preferential rental terms.[1]
Attracting 750 million rubles of investments
At the end of May 2024, the Take Charge! Power bank rental service announced the attraction of 750 million rubles of investments in 3 days as part of a pre-IPO. The placement, organized with the participation of Alfa-Bank at the Rounds site, showed the interest of investors in a promising project, according to its creators.
Initially, the company hoped to collect from 500 to 700 million rubles within a month, but demand from investors significantly exceeded expectations. According to Rounds, a typical pre-IPO round on their site is 200-300 million rubles, and the fundraising process takes from one to three months.
 | This success demonstrates significant investor interest in our project and confirms our leading position in the market, - said the founder of Take Charge! Kirill Kulakov. |  |
He added that the record fundraising is an important step for both the company and the entire powerbank rental industry.
Evgeny Kochemazov, head of investment consulting at the A-Club, noted that the deal interested large players due to the high growth rate of the company, a well-thought-out business model and the recognition of the Take Charge! brand.
Earlier, on May 21, 2024, the Vedomosti newspaper wrote about the plans of Take Charge! to conduct an IPO on the Moscow Exchange in 2025-2026. The company is a resident of the Skolkovo fund. The Expert RA rating agency assigned it a ruBBB- rating with a stable forecast, confirming the prospects for the project.[2]
2021: Attracting 431 million rubles of investments, an estimate of 1.35 billion rubles
In early April 2021, it became known about the attraction of investments by Take Charge! In the amount of 431 million rubles. Four business angels invested in the external battery rental service: former vice president of the Military-Industrial Bank Bogdan Leonov (9.34%), private investors Valery Ivanov (5.21%) and Alla Merman (5.21%), as well as co-owner of the company - seller of carburetors weber-auto.ru Alexander Kabatov (3%).
At the same time, during the round, several early investors left the project: Alexander Borodich, Oleg Senkov and Ivan Puchkov. They each owned 5% of the company. Writes about this Forbes.
The founder of the project, Kirill Kulakov, in a conversation with the publication, said that "Take the charge!" was estimated at 1.35 billion rubles. Moreover, the company received such an assessment from the part of the investment that went into capital (102 million rubles). According to Kulakov, some investors also pledged to invest in equipment.
| | Some new investors received only shares in the company, while others wanted to receive regular income, so they invested in both capital and equipment. We, in turn, will pay investors 50% of revenue minus direct expenses monthly, - explained the entrepreneur. | |
Kulakov said that in February 2021, 63,000 people used the service services (an average of 4300 powerbanks were rented per day), in March - 85,000 (5362 powerbanks). Renting a powerbank for a day costs 100 rubles.[3]
Notes
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