Proactive Investors - Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) shares added more than 11% after the solar company revealed a $500 million investment from BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in its renewable energy platform subsidiary Recurrent Energy.
The equity investment commitment, convertible into common equity, is through a BlackRock fund managed by its Climate Infrastructure business.
It will represent 20% of Recurrent Energy’s outstanding fully diluted shares on an as-converted basis.
Canadian Solar noted that it would continue to own the remaining majority of Recurrent Energy’s shares following the closing of the investment.
The additional capital will allow Recurrent Energy to grow its project development pipeline and support its aim of transitioning from a pure developer to a developer plus owner and operators in markets including the US and Europe. It is also expected to create a more diversified portfolio, Canadian Solar said.
“The infusion of capital from our partner BlackRock, who is also Canadian Solar's largest institutional investor, will provide the resources needed to further scale the Recurrent Energy platform and meet record clean energy power demand across the world,” Canadian Solar CEO Dr Shawn Qu said in a statement.
Global Head of Climate Infrastructure and Chief Investment Officer of Transition Capital at BlackRock David Giordano, meanwhile, commented: “Recurrent Energy is emblematic of our strategy of investing in leading renewable power generation assets and transition-enabling infrastructure, and we are pleased to make this first investment commitment from the fourth vintage of BlackRock's Climate Infrastructure fund franchise.”
Shares of Canadian Solar had gained 11.1% at about US$23.39 late morning on Tuesday.