Solar corp funding grows 34% Y/Y in Jan-Sep - Mercom

Total corporate funding in the solar sector globally for the first nine months of 2019 registered a 34% year-on-year rise, reaching USD 9 billion (EUR 8.2bn), new statistics by Mercom Capital Group show.

The clean energy consultancy provided the data in a new report on funding and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the solar sector on Tuesday. The global total includes venture capital (VC) and private equity funding, public market and debt financing. Mercom’s report contains data from 246 companies and investors.

“Corporate funding activity so far this year is ahead of last year’s levels as demand outlook looks positive, and solar public companies continue to do well,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group. He noted that that initial public offerings (IPOs) and securitisation deals were among the major contributors to the improved figures.

In January-September, global VC funding in the solar industry was up 13% to USD 1 billion. Mercom said a total of 88 VC investors were involved in transactions in the nine months. Among the largest VC and private equity deals in the third quarter alone were the debt funding round in which BBOXX Ltd, a London-based pay-as-you-go solar power firm, raised USD 50 million, and a USD-42-million funding round by Oxford PV, the company preparing to start producing perovskite-on-HJT tandem cells. The other important transactions in this category were carried out by Spain’s Solaria Energia y Medio Ambiente SA (BME:SLR) and Exeger Sweden AB, raising USD 40 million and USD 30 million, respectively.

Solar public market financing in the first nine months of 2019 increased by 25% to USD 2.25 billion in 13 deals, of which five IPOs brought some USD 1.3 billion. Announced debt financing rose by 43% to USD 5.8 billion in 37 deals.

The reported M&A deals in January-September totalled 57, down from 64 in the year-ago period. Solar projects with a combined capacity of 15.9 GW changed their ownership in the period, as compared to 23.6 GW a year before.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.912)

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