First Solar-SunPower yieldco eyes up to USD 483m from IPO

The newly-established yieldco of US solar majors First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) and SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR) could raise up to USD 483 million (EUR 427m) through its planned listing.

The parties announced the launch of the initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq Global Market yesterday, saying that the expected price range is USD 19.00 to USD 21.00 apiece.

The yieldco, called 8point3 Energy Partners LP, is offering 20 million Class A shares to the public and has given a 30-day option to the underwriters to buy up to an additional 3 million shares at the same price.

8point3 Energy Partners was created by First Solar and SunPower to own and operate a portfolio of selected solar parks. A previous filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows that the firm will start with a 432-MW portfolio of solar power projects. The yieldco will then seek to acquire further solar assets primarily from its sponsors. It says it will have a right of first offer (ROFO) on interests in 1,131 MW of projects developed by them.

In the latest press release, First Solar and SunPower said that the yieldco will use all of the IPO net proceeds to buy the common units of 8point3 Operating Company LLC, which holds 8point3 Energy Partners' project assets. In turn, 8point3 Operating Company plans to use the sale proceeds to make a cash distribution to each of First Solar and SunPower.

Once the IPO is completed, the yieldco will trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “CAFD”.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.885)

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