Bloom Energy raises more money at a flat valuation:
Bloom raising another $150 million
By Dan Primack
CNN Money
June 8, 2012: 11:40 AM ET
FORTUNE -- Bloom Energy, the fuel cell maker that that VCs either love or hate, is in the midst of raising $150 million in new funding.
News of the raise was first reported by Dow Jones, based on a marketing email that Fortune has also obtained. A first close is slated for next Friday.
What's particularly interesting about this particular round is that it's structured as an extension to a $150 million Series G round the company did last year, at a $2.7 billion pre-money valuation. This one comes with the same valuation, meaning that Bloom doesn't really get any valuation credit for the prior $150 million.
Moreover, at $25.76 per share, Bloom actually is raising money at a substantial premium to where its shares are trading on the secondary market. According to SharesPost, the most recent secondary contracts for Bloom have only been at $20 per share. Will be pretty interesting to see who chooses to buy shares directly from the company, when they could get them 22% cheaper by buying from someone else (albeit not necessarily at institutional supply levels).
I'm also interested to see how existing investors react, given that they've already plugged more than $450 million into the company. If they add even more equity, don't be surprised if they rejigger the warrants a bit. Also, if they do invest, perhaps it's an indication that they believe Bloom can someday make its boxes profitable, since multiple sources tell me that Bloom's revenue growth is essentially tied to increased losses (particularly without subsidies).
I've put in a request for comment with the company, but have not yet heard back.
The current offering is being managed by Advanced Equities which, in an old correspondance, predicted that Bloom would go public in 2009. At the time, one of its venture capital shareholders told me that its public market cap would be $20 billion.
Bloom's current backers include Advanced Equities, Apex Venture Partners, DAG Ventures, GSV Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Mobius Venture Capital, New Enterprise Associates, SunBridge Partners and Goldman Sachs ( GS).
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