Fremont, Calif.-based solar cylinder developer Solyndra said today it intends to raise $300 million through an initial public offering.
A regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission didn’t specify a timeframe for the IPO, the price of shares, or the exchange. Solyndra plans to trade under the symbol SOLY.
There has been a significant pick-up in cleantech IPOs in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Twenty-nine cleantech companies have gone public so far in 2009, as tracked by the Cleantech Group, the majority of them small listings in China. the most significant cleantech IPO of the year was A123Systems (Nasdaq:AONE), which raised $380 million when it went public on the Nasdaq in September (see A123Systems up and climbing after Nasdaq debut and Will A123Systems revive the IPO market?).
Solyndra had been long rumored in Silicon Valley to be an IPO candidate.
The company’s IPO is expected to help pay for a 500-megawatt factory being constructed in nearby Milpitas, Calif., as well as general corporate activities.
Solyndra broke ground on a 250-MW first phase of the production facility in September, which is being partially funded by a $535 million loan from the U.S. Treasury Department for the construction (see Solyndra nabs $535M DOE loan guarantee for 500 MW factory). It’s expected to go into production in 2012.
The second phase, also adding 250 MW, is expected to cost $642 million. Solyndra revealed in its regulatory filing that it applied for a second U.S. government loan guarantee, valued at $469 million.
Other highlights of the S-1:
- Argonaut Private Equity, which led a $198 million equity round in September, owns 36 percent of Solyndra’s shares, and has the right to purchase up to 15 percent of the shares during the IPO (see Solyndra raises $198M, breaks ground on 500 MW plant).
- Solyndra has an accumulated deficit of $505 million and growing.
- Solyndra sold 1.6 MW of panels in 2008, and 17.2 MW in the first nine months of 2009.
- 2009 revenue for the nine months ending Oct. 3 was $58.8 million. the previous fiscal year posted revenue of $6 million.
- Net loss for the nine months ending Oct. 3 was $119.8 million. the previous fiscal year reported a loss of $232.1 million.
The company has raised more than $800 million from private investors including U.S. Venture Partners, CMEA Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Virgin Green Fund, Madrone Capital Partners and RockPort Capital Partners (see Solyndra closes 2008 with $220M financing round and Swiss cleantech and ocean power).
Last year, Solyndra came out of stealth mode to reveal its entry into the solar race—long cylinders coated in thin-film material inside glass tubes, which line up inside aluminum frames (see Solyndra reveals thin-film solar tubes).
See Solyndra’s technology here »
Solyndra says the tubes allow the CIGS material to capture optimal sunlight for a longer period than traditional flat panels. Solyndra’s 180-watt-peak panels—each made up of 40 cylinders in a one-meter by two-meter aluminum frame—have an efficiency of 12 percent to 14 percent, the company says.
The joint book-running managers of the proposed offering are Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Public offering uptick prompts Solyndra to file for IPO …
