US Solar Fund raises USD 132m in an upsized issue

US Solar Fund plc (LON:USF) has increased the size of the initial issue of its recently unveiled placing programme to USD 132 million (EUR 109.6m) of gross proceeds from the USD 105 million sought originally, following oversubscription.

The London-listed solar investor said today that the first fundraising since its initial public offering (IPO) two years ago was well supported by new and existing investors.

Announcing the issue on April 13, the company said it will use the proceeds to refinance a 177-MW portfolio to reduce borrowing costs and gearing, and for the purchase of a further 25% stake in the 200-MW Mount Signal 2 solar power plant in California.

It has now decided to use an additional USD 7.5 million for the Heelstone portfolio refinancing and a further USD 8 million to repay existing drawings under its revolving credit facility. The remainder will be kept for working capital and subsequent investments.

"With President Biden recently announcing yet more ambitious carbon reduction targets, and extending Federal subsidy support, we believe the opportunity and need to invest in utility scale solar remain compelling and urgent," said chair Gill Nott.

The company will issue 132 million new ordinary shares at a placing price of USD 1 per share, including about 122.4 million shares pursuant to the placing, some 3.3 million pursuant to the offer for subscription and around 6.3.million under the intermediaries offer.

A scaling back exercise still had to be carried out as applications exceeded the increased size of the issue.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.831)

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