2009 was a bleak year for IPOs. 2010 looks to be the beginning of a recovery.
Solyndra, the VC-funded thin film solar filed its S-1 in December last year in preparation for an IPO of up to $300 million We parsed their filing document here. And we tried to understand their cost per watt here.
China-based solar firm JinkoSolar just filed for an IPO of up to $100 million, according to a Reuters report.
JinkoSolar builds monocrystalline and polycrystalline wafers, cells and modules for the PV market, and intends to use proceeds from the IPO to expand manufacturing, for research and development, and for working capital. JinkoSolar posted revenue of $129 million in the nine months ended Sept. 30, down 42.8 percent from the same period a year ago.
Earlier this month Daqo New Energy, another Chinese solar polysilicon vendor, filed for an IPO of up to $108 million. Daqo had revenues of $116 million for the last twelve months ending 09/30/09.
On the not so positive side, Chinese thin film panel maker Trony Solar Holdings postponed its IPO due to poor market conditions in late 2009.
What other solar firms might we see with IPO aspirations in 2010? Nanosolar usually makes the list but first they have to get to $50 million in revenue. Although they have plenty of backlog, they are still in small-scale or pilot production. Ed Gunther, insightful solar blogger, lists SunRun and SolarCity as potential IPOs -- and those are good picks.
That covers solar. For now.
Don't overlook Codexis which filed their IPO at the end of the year.
Codexis, is a provider of biocatalysts with $58 million in revenue in the first nine months of 2009.
Codexis is funded by venture firms and strategic investors. CMEA is one of their major shareholders along with Shell Oil and CTTV, the investment arm of Chevron. CMEA is also an investor in Solyndra and the recently-public battery vendor A123.
Codexis' biocatalysts are used in the pharmaceutical industry but the greentech angle is the deal that Codexis has with Shell to produce commercially viable biofuels from cellulosic biomass. Other green applications for their product include carbon management, water treatment and "green" chemicals.
Additions to the list of potential 2010/2011 greentech IPOs would have to include:
- EV pioneer, Tesla Motors
- LED lighting company, Bridgelux
- CSP giant Brightsource
- Smart grid innovator Silver Spring Networks
- Smart grid networker Trilliant
- Solar inverter innovator Enphase
You'd be surprised by the revenue being generated by these VC-funded start-up firms.