Mercom Capital Group Reports Third Quarter 2011 Funding and M&A Activity for Solar

AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwire - Oct 11, 2011) - Mercom Capital Group, llc, a global clean energy communications and consulting firm, today released funding and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity for the solar sector for the third quarter of 2011.

For a complete list of Q3 2011 transactions in the solar sector, visit: http://mercomcapital.com/cleanenergyreports.php

Venture capital (VC) funding in the solar sector was steady this quarter, coming in at $372 million, compared to $354 million in Q2 2011. Forty-two different VC investors participated in 29 disclosed deals.

"VC funding so far this year is on pace with 2010 and M&A activity is picking up," commented Raj Prabhu, Managing Partner at Mercom Capital Group. "The number of M&A transactions in 2011 has already surpassed 2010 numbers, signaling that the move towards industry consolidation may have begun."

The top five funding deals included an $85 million raise by HelioVolt, a manufacturer of thin-film Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) modules; OneRoof Energy, a developer, owner and operator of solar energy generation systems for residential markets raised $50 million in Series A; Calisolar, a vertically integrated solar manufacturer, raised $26 million; Clean Power Finance, a provider of integrated services and financing solutions for the solar industry, raised $25 million and Solexant, a producer of ultra thin‐film solar cells, raised $23.5 million in a Series D round.

Solar downstream companies attracted the most funding this quarter closely followed by thin-film companies, with $130 million in 11 deals and $125 million in five deals respectively.

M&A activity came in at $563 million in 20 transactions with details disclosed for only eight. This is the highest number of transactions in a quarter since 2010. The most prominent transactions included the acquisitions of Solar Silicon Valley by JA Solar for $180 million and Fotowatio Renewable Ventures by MEMC for $131 million.

Debt funding in Q3 2011 amounted to $452 million in five announced deals. The top deals involved Chinese companies including China Sunergy, Daqo New Energy and Hanwha SolarOne.

About Mercom Capital Group
Mercom Capital Group is a global clean energy communications and consulting firm with offices in the US and India. Mercom's consulting division advises clean energy companies on new market entry, custom market intelligence and overall strategic decision-making. Mercom delivers highly respected industry market intelligence reports covering Solar Energy, Wind Energy and Smart Grid. Our reports provide timely industry happenings and ahead-of-the-curve analysis for decision makers. Mercom's communications division helps clean energy companies build powerful relationships with media, analysts, government decision-makers, local communities and strategic partners. For more information about Mercom Capital Group, visit: http://www.mercomcapital.com. To get a copy of Mercom's popular market intelligence reports, visit: http://mercomcapital.com/market_intelligence.php.