California solar-power developer BrightSource Energy Inc. said late Wednesday it was withdrawing its initial public offering that was originally scheduled to take place later this week, citing poor market conditions.
California
solar-power developer BrightSource Energy Inc. said late Wednesday it was
withdrawing its initial public offering that was originally scheduled to take
place later this week, citing poor market conditions.
BrightSource, which is building a 392-megawatt solar-thermal power plant in the
California
desert, had hoped to sell 6.9 million shares at $21 to $23 each. Those hopes
were dashed Wednesday evening, amid an apparent lack of demand among investors
given uncertainties about the
U.S.
government's renewable-energy policy and the health of the global economy.
"While we received significant interest from potential investors, the
continued market and economic volatility are not optimal conditions for an
IPO," John Woolard, BrightSource's president and chief executive, said in
a prepared statement released Wednesday night.
The
Oakland
,
Calif.
,
company said it would withdraw its registration with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
BrightSource had planned to price its IPO shares late Wednesday, with trading
planned for Thursday. However, the timing wasn't ideal, as large, well
established solar-power companies have struggled against sliding stock prices
amid a global oversupply of solar panels, and as a slew of smaller solar firms
have succumbed to bankruptcy.
BrightSource has worked to distinguish itself from manufacturers of solar
panels, which use a different technology to generate electricity. But dramatic
price declines over the last year for solar panels, as well as natural gas,
have changed the energy landscape.
BrightSource's solar-thermal technology uses arrays of mirrors, called
heliostats, to concentrate sunlight onto a central boiler that produces steam. The
steam is used to drive power turbines to generate electricity and also can be
used for other industrial applications, such as enhanced oil recovery. Solar
panels, by contrast, use a semiconductor material to convert sunlight into
electricity.
BrightSource obtained more than $1.5 billion in federal loans to build its
first commercial power plant, called Ivanpah.
California
solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC obtained $528 million in
U.S.
government loans through the same program, administered by the Department of
Energy. Solyndra filed for bankruptcy protection last September, raising
questions about whether the government should be backing early-stage
alternative-energy companies with taxpayer money.
Woolard said in the statement that BrightSource is "in a strong financial
position and [has] the support of world-class investors and partners."
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) is the lead investor in the Ivanpah project, having
pledged to invest up to $300 million, and Google Inc. (GOOG) has invested $168
million in the project, which is still under construction.
BrightSource investors include VantagePoint Capital Partners, Alstom SA Morgan
Stanley, Los Angeles Advisory Services Inc., Draper Fisher Jurvetson, the
venture-capital arms of BP PLC and Chevron Corp., Statoil ASA and DBL
Investors.
California
utilities owned by PG&E Corp. and Edison International have signed
long-term contracts with BrightSource to purchase the electricity from the
Ivanpah plant and other facilities.
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