GREEN CAPITALI$M

Koch-Backed GameChange Solar Files Confidentially for 2024 IPO

Ryan Gould, Gillian Tan and Kiel Porter
Fri, October 6, 2023 



(Bloomberg) -- GameChange Solar, whose backers include a Koch Industries affiliate, has confidentially filed for an initial public offering that could take place as soon as next year, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company, adding to a roster of candidates tentatively preparing to brave the public market, is seeking to be valued in an IPO at up to $3 billion, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t public.

GameChange Solar’s plans for a listing, including the timing, could still change, the people said. A representative for the Norwalk, Connecticut-based company declined to comment.

GameChange Solar said in a 2021 statement that Koch Strategic Platforms, a subsidiary of Koch Investments Group, had made a $150 million investment to support the company’s strategic development goals.

Founded in 2012, GameChange Solar provides utility and commercial scale fixed tilt and tracker solar racking systems that have been used in projects totaling more than 29 gigawatts. It said in a statement in September that it has contracted to increase its US manufacturing capacity by 50% to 36 gigawatts a year by 2024.

A listing would follow that of solar power equipment maker Nextracker Inc., a Fremont, California-based company that raised $734 million including so-called greenshoe shares in February. Its shares have climbed 42% from their IPO price since then, giving the company a market value of more than $5.4 billion.

Blackstone Inc.-backed Esdec Solar Group is also pursuing an an initial public offering, seeking to be valued at more than $5 billion, Bloomberg News reported in August. The Dutch company was working on a listing with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek