Array Technologies, a New Mexico-based maker of solar tracking systems, launched onto the Nasdaq Global Market late last week, capping one of the biggest U.S. renewable energy IPOs of recent years.
In listing its shares publicly, Array is riding two trends: growing demand for equipment that allows solar projects to squeeze out more power and strong demand for clean energy stocks ahead of November’s presidential election.
GreenTech Media reported that even with an upsized IPO pricing shares at $22, Array surged after hitting the market under ticker symbol ARRY. The shares soared more than 65 percent by Thursday afternoon, to above $36, giving the company a market capitalization of more than $4.6 billion.
Array itself sold 7 million shares of common stock in the IPO, raising $154 million — more than previously expected. Oaktree Capital, the investment manager that bought a majority stake in 2016, sold another 40.5 million shares.
Utility-scale solar is now at cost parity with new natural-gas generation in places, CEO Jim Fusaro said in an interview Thursday. “As we continue to scale and grow with the overall market, we’re at a point now where having access to capital will…allow us to invest in our technologies [and] pay down debt.”
The money raised in the IPO is “a permanent source of capital, which will allow us to enable the growth and the value that we bring to our customers. And in many ways, it serves as an attraction to talent,” Fusaro said.
Array is no newcomer to the solar industry: The company was founded in 1989 by Ron Corio, a pioneer of solar trackers. Oaktree and Corio will continue to own more than half of the company’s voting power.
Today, Array is the world’s second-largest supplier of solar tracking systems, a growing market expected to be worth around $3 billion in 2020, according to Wood Mackenzie.
Source: GreenTech Media