It was a whirlwind day at DBL. We were privileged to watch SolarCity, one of our portfolio companies, ring the opening bell at Nasdaq for its first day of trading as a public company. All of the company’s hard work paid off when the stock closed nearly 50 percent over its opening price. Wow. This is what impact investing–the very best route to helping companies make money and a difference for their employees and communities–is all about.
We’d love to go on about what the media said, but it’s probably better to hear it directly from some of the outlets covering the IPO. This is clearly just a sampling of articles, but the overall body of coverage follows the same arc.
From GigaOm’s Cleantech lead, Katie Fehrenbacher: SolarCity rings the opening NASDAQ bell
Solar rooftop company SolarCity rang the NASDAQ opening bell this morning, as the company debuted on the public market at $8 per share. While the $8 price point was significantly lower than previously expected (originally at $13 to $15 range), the company didn’t shelve the IPO in the 11th hour, as other cleantech startups have done in recent months.
We’ll see how the stock fares on its inaugural day, and we’ll bring you updates on that. The company is widely seen as a bellwether for how Wall Street will react to companies selling clean energy, solar and cleantech, and also represents one of the few venture-backed cleantech exits in 2012. The company’s investors include co-founder and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, as well as Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and DBL — SolarCity’s investors have agreed to buy up about a third of the available float in the offering.
From CNN.com: SolarCity IPO Shines — by Maureen Farell
In its debut on Nasdaq (NDAQ) Thursday, SolarCity closed 47% above its $8‑a-share initial public offering price. The company, which installs solar panels, said it plans to use the proceeds for working capital and to expand the business through acquisitions or investments.
From Forbes: SolarCity Shares Up 50% in Market Debut — by Todd Woddy
SolarCity shares were up nearly 50% Thursday as the Silicon Valley solar installer made its market debut and raised $92 million.
Whether SolarCity has broken the so-called solar curse that has seen several solar manufacturers file for bankrupt and one high-prolife company, BrightSource Energy, pull its IPO this year, remains to be seen. But on Thursday at least, the forecast looks sunny.
From the San Francisco Business Times: SolarCity Corp. IPO electrifies — by Lindsay Riddell
The solar industry can breathe a sigh of relief as SolarCity Corp.’s public offering finally debuted Thursday.
The San Mateo-based solar installer raised $92 million, debuting at $8 a share. Its stock price jumped nearly 47 percent to close at $11.79. SolarCity is trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol SCTY.