Solyndra withdraws IPO, raises $175 million instead

Fremont, Calif.-based photovoltaic solar panel manufacturer Solyndra on Thursday announced that it would withdraw its plans for an initial public offering and instead raise $175 million from the sale of convertible promissory notes from existing investors.

The company says it has withdrawn its Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 18, 2009.

The reason? "Adverse market conditions and the availability of alternative funding from existing investors. "

The sale of $175 million worth of secured convertible promissory notes "will be used to fund the company's existing operations and support its growth plans," it said.

"Given the ongoing uncertainties in the public capital markets, we elected to pursue alternative funding from our existing investor base," Solyndra CEO Chris Gronet said in a statement. "This funding allows us to address strong customer demand by maintaining our aggressive growth plans."

The company says it's still on target to roll out production from its Fab 2 manufacturing plant by the fourth quarter of 2010, two months ahead of its original schedule.

Solyndra also says it has sold more than 300,000 panels for deployment on commercial rooftop sites in a dozen countries.

It expects annualized production to exceed 300 megawatts by the fourth quarter of 2011 -- enough scale to "substantially reduce" manufacturing costs, Gronet said.

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com