Vivint Solar closes USD 811m of debt financing

US residential solar provider Vivint Solar Inc (NYSE:VSLR) said Monday it has raised USD 811 million (EUR 687m) of debt financing via two deals, closing its first securitisation.

One of the transactions is a capital markets issuance of USD 466 million of solar asset backed notes, Series 2018-1, which was upsized from USD 355 million and is described as the largest securitisation of residential solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) and leases so far. The company also issued USD 345 million of solar asset backed notes, Series 2018-2, in a private placement.

Vivint Solar said it will use the overall funds to repay in full or partially certain existing debt facilities and for general corporate purposes. The two deals reduce its blended total credit spreads by about 160 basis points.

Chief commercial officer and head of capital narkets Thomas Plagemann described the financings as a milestone in the company's financing strategy, which "optimises and simplifies our term debt structure while allowing us to repay more expensive outstanding loans, increase advance rates, lock in attractive fixed borrowing rates and create incremental liquidity for the business."

Together, the transactions provide back-leverage financing for a portfolio of 16 tax equity funds and one wholly owned subsidiary that own 575 MW and over 86,000 residential solar systems.

Their term has been structured to exceed the expected "flip" date of the underlying project tax equity funds, the company said. The Series 2018-1 notes have an anticipated repayment date of October 30, 2028.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.848)

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