Tuesday, July 8, 2008

GT Solar expands IPO plans to $500M

By Mass High Tech Staff

GT Solar Inc., a manufacturer of photovoltaic equipment, has boosted the amount it intends to raise to almost $500 million in an initial public offering, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

With plans to trade on the Nasdaq capital market using “SOLR” for a ticker symbol, the Merrimack, N.H., company will offer 30.3 million shares of common stock, priced between $15.50 and $17.50. Proceeds from the stock offering will benefit GT Solar Holdings LLC, parent company of GT Solar Inc.

GT Solar had initially filed papers with the SEC in April 2007 for an IPO valued at $200 million.

Founded in 1994, GT Solar has landed a number of multi-million dollar orders in the last year, including a $200 million contract in March to supply polysilicon reactors to South Korean-based DC Chemical Co. Ltd. and a $171 million order last August to supply China-based Silicon Energy Co. Ltd. with products, including the DSS450 furnace.