US Solar Fund has raised about $132m (€109m) through an issuance of new ordinary shares, beating its target of $105m.
The fund said that, in consultation with the investment manager, the board of directors has agreed that it would allocate an additional $7.5m to the Heelstone refinancing, use a further $8m to repay existing drawings under the company’s revolving credit facility, and retain the balance for working capital and subsequent investments consistent with the company’s investment policy.
A total of 132,000,000 shares will be issued at a $1 a share, of which 122,392,978 will be issued pursuant to the placing, 3,299,868 issued pursuant to the offer for subscription and 6,307,154 issued under an intermediaries offer.
US Solar Fund chair Gill Nott said: “We’re delighted with this strong backing from individual and institutional investors for our first fundraise following US Solar Fund’s IPO two years ago.
“We will put these funds to work immediately, reducing our Heelstone Portfolio financing costs along with the fund’s total gearing, and deploying into our pipeline of attractive investment opportunities.
“Among other benefits, these transactions will increase dividend cover and be accretive to NAV.
“With President Biden recently announcing yet more ambitious carbon reduction targets, and extending Federal subsidy support, we believe the opportunity and need to invest in utility scale solar remain compelling and urgent.
“We would like to thank our new and existing investors for their support and look forward to updating them on further progress shortly.”