Project developer SPI Solar is set to raise $25 million through a private sale of its shares to fund its expansion plans.
The Roseville, California-based company will use the proceeds to expand its global project development activities, ramp up its sales to homeowners and small businesses, and for working capital purposes and to pay down debt.
SPI is a privately held firm, majority-owned by Chinese module manufacturing giant LDK Solar. It has a vertically-integrated business model, obtaining panels from LDK, while it develops and maintains projects itself. It also offers financing solutions, which will be particularly important as it pushes into the rapidly expanding decentralised rooftop market in the US.
The latest fundraising comes just two weeks after the company raised $21.75 million in a private placement of equity and convertible bonds.
"Combined with our other recently closed private placement for $21.75 million, consummation of this private placement will dramatically strengthen SPI's financial position to capitalise on opportunities we are currently seeing across the global photovoltaic project landscape," said SPI chairman Xiaofeng Peng, who is also the founder and Chairman of LDK Solar.
Under the terms of the latest sale, SPI Solar has agreed to sell 92.6 million shares of common stock at $0.27 per share. The shares will be sold solely to non-US investors on a private placement basis. SPI expects the sale will close within two months.
SPI Solar was founded in 2005 as Solar Power, Inc. LDK bought its stake in 2011.
SPI is active in Americas, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. It sees China as an important market, and earlier this month its subsidiary Xinyu Xinwei New Energy Co. (Xinwei) entered into two significant agreements.
The first was for the sale of a 50MW project in Fenyi County, China – one of the largest utility-scale PV projects in Jiangxi Province – to Xinyu Zhongzhi Guoxiang New Energy Electric Power Investment Development Co.
Xinwei will still build and develop the project.
Xinwei also agreed with Xinyu Zhongzhi Guoxiang New Energy Electric Power Investment Development Co to construct a 21MW project in Jiangxi Province, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2014.
Peter Cripps
