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Listed solar companies in dash for cash

Updated: Taking advantage of a general run-up in solar sector shares on both the NASDAQ and NYSE, several leading companies are planning to sell new tranches of stock, including Yingli Green, SunEdison and GT Advanced Technologies.

Yingli Green Energy kicked-off the current wave on 6 September, with an SEC filing to prepare for a total issue value of US$$200 million in commons shares via the NYSE in the future.

Outside of its planned spin-off and IPO of its polysilicon and wafer operations, SunEdison also filed documents with the SEC on 10 September to issue 30 million shares of common stock. SunEdison’s stock price stood at over US$8.25 yesterday. The issue could generate around US$250 million in new capital.

Equipment specialist, GT Advanced Technologies has also announced today (11 September) in SEC filings that it would issue around 3.3 million shares for a net proceeds of US$50 million.

The vast majority of companies in the PV sector and across the supply chain have been reeling from two years of losses as overcapacity drove prices of all components to unsustainable levels.

Many in the PV module manufacturing sector are carrying sizable debts after aggressive expansions since 2009 and now need cash injections to pay looming debt schedule repayments as well as funds to meet growing demand and ramp existing plants to return to profitability.

With Chinese banks continuing to be highly selective in lending to the Chinese PV sector the share price rally this year is proving an alternative vehicle to raise cash, previously unavailable to them due to low evaluations of shares.

Previous to the latest wave of share offerings, First Solar tapped the US markets for a cool US$427.7 million in July.

As with First Solar, Yingli Green and SunEdison are bulking-up their balance sheets as companies continue to pursue the downstream market and build and replenish PV power plant project pipelines.

Update

Canadian Solar, which had also previously planned a stock issue has announced it successfully sold 3,772,254 of its common shares at an average price of US$13.25 per share, raising approximately US$50 million in gross proceeds.

Update 2

ReneSola has also followed Canadian Solar in announcing the pricing of a registered direct offering of approximately US$70 million in American Depositary Shares (ADS) of US$4.67 per ADS.

Investors would receive 35% warrant coverage in the offering with an initial exercise price of US$6.04 per ADS or US$3.02 per share. The warrants will expire four years from the date of issuance.

Update 3

Another PV related company that has entered this week’s dash for cash is Emcore, which fabricates III-V-based solar cells for satellites but recently pulled-out of the CPV market.

Suffering again from losses and lack of cash (US$6.6 million remaining on its balance sheet), Emcore is seeking to issue 2.5 million shares, which could net the company around US$12 million at current stock prices.

Emcore has since set the price to US$4.30 per share, potentially netting around US$10.2 million.

Update 4

Emcore later received a total of US$12.3 million from the offering, which included an over allotment. 
 

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