Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Here Comes Another Solar Installer/Financier

From the Wall Street Journal:

Solar-Energy Company Sunrun Preparing for Potential IPO
Sources say timing and final price not yet finalized

Solar-energy company Sunrun Inc. is powering up for a potential initial public offering later this year, according to people familiar with the matter.

The San Francisco-based company, which installs and maintains solar panels for residential homes, is set to work with banks including Credit Suisse Group AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on an IPO, though the deal’s timing and final price aren’t yet finalized, the people said.

Sunrun, founded in 2007, has already privately raised about $300 million in equity from investors such as Accel Partners, Foundation Capital, Madrone Capital Partners and Sequoia Capital, according to the company. It was valued at $1.3 billion as of March 2014, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.
In January, Sunrun said it raised $195 million in credit facilities from Investec PLC. Credit Suisse also had previously backed the company with $200 million in project financing in 2012.

On Wednesday, Sunrun named a new chief financial officer, Bob Komin, who previously worked at other startups and at publicly listed Cincinnati Bell Inc. and Convergys Corp.

Mr. Komin is “well-suited for the next stage of Sunrun’s growth,” Lynn Jurich, Sunrun’s chief executive, said in a statement.

A handful of solar power companies have made a comeback in the public-offering market in recent years after a period of dormancy. Residential solar installers Vivint Solar Inc., backed by Blackstone Group LP, and SolarCity Corp., backed by inventor Elon Musk, have also gone public.

Like Sunrun, these firms own the solar installations and charge homeowners to use the electricity generated. SolarCity shares have soared more than sixfold since its 2012 IPO, though Vivint shares are down 30% from its 2014 IPO. Vivint has a market capitalization $1.3 billion, while SolarCity is valued at $4.8 billion....MORE
HT: AltEnergyStocks

See also:
UPDATED--Why Google Gave Up On Their Renewables-For-Less-Than-Coal Program (RE < C )
Update: I forgot the link to IEEE Spectrum, now fixed.

Following up on "Google Partners With SolarCity On $750 Million Residential Solar Fund (SCTY; GOOG)" where we reiterated, the money is in the finance, not the manufacturing.

Since 2007 I've been recommending Professor David J.C. MacKay, who used to hang his hat at Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory, where as best as I can tell, they manufacture physics laureates for the Nobel folks. (29 at last count).
He has a bunch of letters after his name....