Energy efficiency firm in $115m IPO

30 June 2011

In the latest sign of growing confidence in green-themed initial public offerings (IPOs), US energy efficiency company Aspen Aerogels plans to tap the stock market for up to $115 million.

The Massachusetts-based company, which manufactures insulation products for customers including ExxonMobil and NextEra Energy, filed its IPO plans with US regulators. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will act as book-runners in the IPO.

The planned IPO follows several recent financings for the company.

Aspen Aerogels provides insulation products to industry.

An investor group led by BASF Venture Capital last year invested $21.4 million, while a separate group led by Piper Capital invested a further $10 million. Earlier this year, affiliates of Fidelity Investments and BASF Venture Capital bought $30 million worth of convertible notes in the company, which also secured a $10 million revolving credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank.

The company, which hopes to list on the New York Stock Exchange, is yet to earn a profit and in 2010 posted net loss of nearly $10 million on revenues of more than $43 million. It will use the proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes and expanding its manufacturing capacity.

While clean-tech IPOs have been from plain sailing – Chinese heat pump firm Nobao Renewable Energy withdrew its $300 million IPO in May, having shelved a previous offering last year – Aspen’s fundraising ambitions point to an increasing appetite for IPOs in the sector.

Last week biofuels firm Kior raised $150 million in its IPO, in the footsteps of other recent biofuels listings such as Solazyme and Gevo. In other activity, Chinese wind company Huaneng Renewables revived its IPO to raise $800 million ahead of a Hong Kong listing and, also this month, Californian solar firm Enphase Energy announced plans to raise $100 million via an IPO.

Charlotte Dudley