Solar Sector Sees $207 Million in VC Funding, Strong Project Funding and M&A Activity in Q3 2013, Reports Mercom Capital Group

AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwired - Oct 8, 2013) -  Mercom Capital Group, llc, a global clean energy communications and consulting firm, released its report today on third quarter funding and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity for the solar sector.

Global venture capital (VC) funding in Q3 2013 totaled $207 million (M), up slightly from the $189M raised in Q2 2013. VC funding was distributed across technology groups this quarter with PV companies receiving the most, $57M. Solar VC Funding Chart: http://mercomcapital.com/assets/images/Charts/Solar-Q3-2013/Chart_1.png

Total corporate funding in the solar sector, including VC, debt financing and other equity financings raised by public companies, was significantly higher $2.18 billion (B).

Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group, commented, "Overall market conditions for the solar sector continue to improve. Project funding and M&A activity were at record levels reflecting improved demand outlook. Taking advantage of rising market values, we also saw significant financing activity among publicly-traded solar companies this quarter."

The largest VC deal in Q3 2013 was the $39.9M raised by Solexel from Technology Partners, DAG Ventures, Northgate Capital, GSV Capital, KCPB Holdings and SunPower. eSolar raised $22M from Oak Investment Partners. Clean Power Finance raised $20M from UAE Fund, followed by HelioVolt which raised $19M from SK Group. Dyesol raised $16M from Tasnee, a Saudi Arabia-based diversified conglomerate. Solar Top-5 VC Deals Chart: http://mercomcapital.com/assets/images/Charts/Solar-Q3-2013/Chart_2.png

Third-party solar finance companies raised $584M in disclosed residential and commercial project funds in Q3 2013.

Solar M&A activity increased in Q3 2013 both in transactions and dollars, totaling $9.8B in 23 transactions. Most of this quarter's M&A activity was either strategic or acquisitions of distressed assets/companies/technologies on the cheap. The Top 5 Solar M&A transactions were Applied Materials' $9.4 billion acquisition of Tokyo Electron; the acquisition of LDK Solar's Hi-Tech (Hefei) by China's Tongwei for $142 million; SolarCity's acquisition of Paramount Solar for $120 million; and First Solar's acquisition of GE's global CdTe solar intellectual property portfolio for 1.75 million shares of First Solar common stock (~$84 million).

There were 37 announced large-scale project funding deals (almost 1,267 MW) in Q3 2013 totaling $2.89B. Mercom also tracked about 5.5 GW of new announced large-scale projects in various stages of development worldwide.

There were about 3,000 MW of large-scale projects acquired in Q3 2013.

To learn more about the report, visit: http://store.mercom.mercomcapital.com/products-page/solar-reports/2013-q3-solar-funding-and-ma/

About Mercom Capital Group
Mercom Capital Group, llc, is a global communications and consulting firm focused exclusively on clean energy and financial communications. Mercom's consulting division advises cleantech companies on strategies for strategic decision making and new market entry and provides custom market research. Mercom delivers highly respected industry market intelligence reports covering Solar Energy, Wind Energy and Smart Grid. Mercom's communications division helps companies and financial institutions build powerful relationships with media, analysts, local communities and strategic partners. About Mercom Capital Group, visit: http://www.mercomcapital.com. To get Mercom's popular market intelligence reports, visit: http://mercomcapital.com/market_intelligence.php.