A UK company that supplies silicon parts to the solar panel industry is floating on the stock market.
PV Crystalox Solar announced this morning that it hopes to be valued at up to £500m when it floats in June, making it the largest IPO ever conducted by a UK firm in the renewable energy sector.
It will issue £50m of new shares, with the proceeds earmarked to fund the construction of a new factory in Germany. Another £100m of shares will be sold by existing shareholders, which include the current management.
Founded in 1982, the Oxfordshire firm makes silicon wafers and ingots for solar cells, which absorb sunlight and convert it to electricity. Most of its products are shipped to solar panel manufacturers in Japan, with the rest used by European customers.
Crystalox has benefited from the growth of the solar panel market, fuelled by demand for greener electricity. It has trebled its sales in the last five years, and in 2006 it recorded revenues of £164m and pre-tax profits of £49m.
It hopes to have a new production facility operational in Germany by 2009, giving it a more reliable fund of raw material for its wafers and ingots.
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