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7.08.24
Firm Advises Sunrun on over $1 Billion in Non-Recourse Financings in Q2 2024, Including Record-Setting Securitization
On June 11, 2024, Sunrun, the nation’s leading home solar, battery storage, and energy services company, completed its latest asset-backed securitization of solar leases and power purchase agreements. The securitization consists of $886.3 million in A+ rated Class A-1 and Class A-2 notes and $91.2 million in BB rated Class B notes, for an aggregate $977.5 million initial balance. The notes are secured by two tax equity funds of rooftop solar and energy storage systems distributed across various states and utility service territories. ATLAS SP Securities, a division of Apollo Global Securities, LLC, acted as structuring agent and served as joint bookrunner along with Citigroup Global Markets Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, MUFG Securities Americas Inc., and RBC Capital Markets, LLC as co-managers and initial purchasers for the securitization, and SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. as an initial purchaser. The $443.15 million Class A-1 notes were publicly marketed and the $443.15 million Class A-2 notes were privately placed. At closing, the asset-backed securitization was both the largest ever in Sunrun’s history and across the entire residential solar industry. Combined with a $230 million asset-backed securitization of solar leases and power purchase agreements closed in April 2024, the Class A-1 and Class A-2 notes collectively represent over $1 billion of senior debt financing raised by Sunrun in the second fiscal quarter of 2024.
Client Highlights
11.02.23
Firm Advises Sunrun on over $1 Billion in Non-Recourse Financings in Third Quarter of 2023, including Record-Setting Securitization
On September 26, 2023, Sunrun, the nation’s leading home solar, battery storage, and energy services company, completed its latest asset-backed securitization of solar leases and power purchase agreements. The securitization consists of $715 million in A- rated Class A-1 and Class A-2 notes and $80 million in BB+ rated Class B notes for an aggregate $795 million initial balance. The notes are secured by tax-equity and wholly-owned funds of rooftop solar and energy storage systems distributed across various states and utility service territories. Deutsche Bank acted as the sole structuring agent and served as joint bookrunner along with ATLAS SP Securities, BofA Securities, and MUFG Securities Americas, with Credit Agricole Securities, Citigroup Global Markets, ING Financial Markets, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, SG Americas Securities, TD Securities, and Truist Securities as co-managers for the securitization. The $440 million Class A-1 notes were publicly marketed and the $275 million Class A-2 notes were privately placed. At closing, the asset-backed securitization was both the largest ever in Sunrun’s history and across the entire residential solar industry. Combined with a senior portfolio term-out financing closed in July 2023, the Class A-1 and Class A-2 notes collectively represent over $1 billion of senior term debt financing raised by Sunrun in the third fiscal quarter of 2023.
Client Highlights
4.18.23
Wilson Sonsini Advises Spring Lane Capital on $31 Million Fundraise for Spring Free EV
On April 6, 2023, Spring Free EV, a financial technology company accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) through innovative fintech products, announced the completion of a $31 million fundraise that includes a debt facility and a Series A equity investment led by Spring Lane Capital, a $400 million private equity firm focused on providing hybrid capital for sustainable solutions in the energy, food, water, waste, and transportation industries. The financing will enable Spring Free EV to double the number of EVs it has already put on the road by the end of 2023, with the expectation of scaling to tens of thousands of vehicles on the road by 2025. In addition, at full-scale operation, the company expects to cut the upfront costs of utilizing EVs by more than half the current amount.
Client Highlights
1.17.23
Firm Advises Sunrun on $835 Million Non-Recourse Financings
On December 23, 2022, Sunrun closed a $600 million non-recourse syndicated bank facility, including a $575 million amortizing loan and a $25 million debt service reserve letter of credit supporting a 335 MW portfolio of leases and power purchase agreements distributed across various states and utility service territories, with KeyBanc Capital Markets and Silicon Valley Bank acting as coordinating lead arrangers. The facility was oversubscribed among a syndicate of nine lenders and is the largest senior tranche for a term financing since Sunrun’s inception.
Client Highlights
9.07.22
Wilson Sonsini Advises Lunar Energy on Acquisition and Corporate Matters as Company Emerges from Stealth
On August 24, 2022, Lunar Energy, a California-based start-up dedicated to delivering home electrification, emerged from stealth mode having successfully raised over $300 million in two rounds of funding led by Sunrun and South Korea's SK Group. Lunar Energy also acquired Moixa, the leading global software company for distributed energy resources (DER) management. In addition, ITOCHU and Honda, previous investors in Moixa, joined Lunar Energy's team of investors. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati represented Lunar Energy in the financings, the acquisition, technology transactions, and general corporate matters.
Client Highlights
7.27.21
Wilson Sonsini Advises Inspire Energy Capital on Acquisition by Shell
On July 27, 2021, Shell New Energies US LLC, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, announced that it has signed an agreement to buy 100 percent of the equity interests of Inspire Energy Capital LLC, a renewable energy residential retailer with headquarters in Santa Monica, California, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Inspire Energy Capital on the transaction.
Inspire offers renewable energy to customers through a variety of innovative services and subscription plans and incentivizes customers to manage energy usage via a rewards program within its mobile app. The company currently serves approximately 235,000 residential customers in Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. The acquisition of Inspire accelerates Shell’s digital ambitions in the power sector by utilizing data-driven, digitally enabled platforms to simplify customers’ decarbonization journeys.
Following the close of the transaction—which is expected by Q4 2021, subject to regulatory clearance and the satisfaction of closing conditions—Inspire will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell, operating under its existing brand within Shell’s Renewables & Energy Solutions integrated power business.
Inspire offers renewable energy to customers through a variety of innovative services and subscription plans and incentivizes customers to manage energy usage via a rewards program within its mobile app. The company currently serves approximately 235,000 residential customers in Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. The acquisition of Inspire accelerates Shell’s digital ambitions in the power sector by utilizing data-driven, digitally enabled platforms to simplify customers’ decarbonization journeys.
Following the close of the transaction—which is expected by Q4 2021, subject to regulatory clearance and the satisfaction of closing conditions—Inspire will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell, operating under its existing brand within Shell’s Renewables & Energy Solutions integrated power business.
Client Highlights
8.28.20
Wilson Sonsini Advises PayActiv in $100 Million Series C, Creation of Structured Debt Facility
On August 13, 2020, PayActiv, the leading employer-sponsored earned wage access and holistic financial wellness platform, announced that it has secured $100 million in its Series C round of funding to further its mission of bringing security, dignity, and savings, to workers. The financing round was led by Eldridge and includes existing PayActiv shareholders such as Generation Partners and Ziegler Link•Age Fund II.
Client Highlights
10.11.18
Royal Caribbean Announces First-of-Its-Kind Renewable Energy Transaction with Southern Power
On October 11, 2018, Royal Caribbean Cruises, a leading global cruise line based in Miami, Florida, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Southern Power, a wholesale energy provider, to support the development of the planned 200-megawatt Reading Wind Facility in Reading, Kansas. The Reading facility will include 62 wind turbines manufactured by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy to generate approximately 760,000-megawatt hours per year over a 12-year purchasing agreement. The project, which was initially sourced by Southern Power's joint development partner RES America Developments, is expected to break ground in 2019 and will be completed in 2020. According to Seatrade Cruise News, the Reading Wind Facility will produce "enough clean energy to offset about 512,000 tons of CO2 a year—or 10 to 12 percent of [Royal Caribbean's] annual carbon emissions" as of 2020. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati represented Royal Caribbean in the transaction.