Friday, August 1, 2008

First Wind hopes IPO will blow $450M its way

By Mass High Tech Staff

Newton wind developer First Wind Holdings Inc. has filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission declaring its intention to hold an initial public offering aimed at raising $450 million.

A time table or pricing for the execution of the offering has not been disclosed.

First Wind, which is expected to trade under the symbol WNDY on the Nasdaq exchange, was founded as UPC Wind in 1995, and has amassed a portfolio of wind projects across the country representing 92 megawatts of power in operation and 182 megawatts under construction. The company operates projects in the Northeast, the Midwest and Hawaii, and is locally known for its 42-megawatt Mars Hill Wind Farm in Maine.

According to its filings, the company has set a goal of reaching approximately 1,100 megawatts of operating capacity by the end of 2010, and 2,300 megawatts by 2013.

Financially, First Wind reported $12.3 million in revenue in 2007, with a net loss of $68 million. The company employs approximately 130 people.

While the technology IPO market has been slow in the first half of 2008, alternative energy companies have not let that trend deter them. GT Solar International Inc. (Nasdaq: SOLR), a maker of photovoltaic manufacturing equipment in Merrimack, N.H., executed its initial offering last week, raising $500 million. In May, Essex, Conn.-based wind farm developer Noble Environmental Power LLC announced its own intention to go public in a $375 million offering.

Also this morning, solar equipment maker STR Holdings Inc. of Enfield, Conn., also filed for a $375 million IPO.

Aside from Mars Hill, First Wind has one project under construction in Danforth, Maine (57 megawatts), which is slated to be operational in 2008, and four additional sites expected to start in 2009.