Fuel delivery firm Booster raises $125 mln in late-stage funding

Booster

25/05/2022 14:00

By Manya Saini
    May 25 (Reuters) - Fuel delivery firm Booster said on
Wednesday it had raised $125 million in a late-stage funding
round led by investment firm Rose Park Advisors with
participation from Japan's Mitsubishi Corp  8058.T .
    The San Mateo, California-based company offers an on-demand
platform for booking fuel services to its customers such as tech
giants Amazon  AMZN.O  and IBM  IBM.N . Its portfolio includes
conventional, renewable and alternative fuels.
    With global fuel demand nearing pre-pandemic levels and
crude oil prices touching more than a decade high, energy
companies have seen huge investor interest and have been among
the winners of the year. The S&P 500 Energy Index  .SPNY  is up
over 50% so far in 2022.
    Booster's focus on sustainability is relevant in today's
environment where "fuel prices hover at all-time highs and
energy independence concerns increase," founder and Chief
Executive Officer Frank Mycroft told Reuters.
    The company said its revenue in the first quarter more than
doubled year-over-year, as large e-commerce and delivery
companies like United Parcel Service  UPS.N  also employed its
services.
    "Our ability to directly deliver U.S.-produced clean energy
without the hard infrastructure helps communities today by
lowering fuel consumption," Mycroft added. 
    Booster said it is promoting the transition towards 100%
renewable diesel as environment-conscious consumers switch to
alternative fuels and calls for greener business practices grow
louder.
    The company is also increasing its capabilities in the
on-demand electric vehicle (EV) charging space, it said, as the
popularity of EVs grows in the United States. 
    Other investors in the series D fundraise included Chaac
Ventures, Equinor Ventures, Thayer Ventures, Conversion Capital,
and Enterprise Holding Ventures, Booster said.
    The company did not disclose its valuation after the round.

 (Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
 ((Manya.Saini@thomsonreuters.com;))