IFC-backed Azure raises $136.4m from IPO, private placement

Azure Power, an Indian renewables developer, has raised $136.4 million from its initial public offering and private placement on the New York Stock Exchange. 

The developer listed a total of around 3.4 million shares in its IPO, 2.24 million of which will be sold by Azure Power and 1.17 million by a number of existing shareholders, it said in a statement. The company also raised $75 million from a private placement at $18 per share. The IPO and private placement’s combined proceeds total about $136.4 million, before deducting expenses.

The company has been backed by the International Finance Corporation since 2010. The institution’s original $10 million debt injection helped the company scale up by catalising funds of more than $200 million, according to an IFC statement. Since then, IFC has made successive rounds of both equity and debt investments to fund the company’s new solar power plants across Indian states. 

It is unclear whether IFC was among the selling shareholders and whether it retains a stake in the company. The institution had not responded to emailed queries by press time.  

Azure said it intended to use the proceeds primarily to fund future growth and operating expenses. 

Before the company officially listed its shares on NYSE last week, it had secured a 15-year debt financing facility of $20 million at a cost of capital at 4.74 percent earlier this month from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the US government’s development finance institution. The proceeds of the loan will be used to fund the construction of 19MW of rooftop solar projects in multiple Indian states. 

Azure was the first independent solar developer to set up a utility-scale solar plant in India in 2009 and is the country’s first solar developer to list on NYSE. According to its website, its portfolio had a total capacity of about 1GW under various stages in 15 states, as of 31 July 2016.