2007 Starts Strongly for Clean Energy Investment

A total of $2.2 billion of venture capital and private equity flowed into the clean energy industry worldwide in the first quarter of 2007. That’s an increase of 57.7% from Q1 2006, and 60% higher than Q4 2006. Although companies of all stages received increased investment activity, later stage, leveraged private equity investments dominated. Later stage deals contributed $1.4 billion (up 44% on Q1 2006), while earlier stage deals rose 23%. Over-the-counter transactions were up 48% to $97.3m. Private Investments in Public Equities, or PIPE transactions, more than tripled from $142.9m to $446.4m. By contrast the Public Markets saw 18% less raised in the first quarter of 2007 than in the same period in 2006 ($1.47 billion vs $1.9 billion). Several large deals took up much of the capital. Solar silicon producer Silicium de Provence received $394m, Imperium Renewables, a US biodiesel producer, accounted for another $113m. The success of biofuels groups in raising money might seem to run contrary to current investor sentiment on the sector, which has been shaken as oil prices dropped and feedstock costs soared. Money has, however, continued to flow into areas other than US corn-based ethanol: Hawaiian biodiesel in the case of Imperium, and […]

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