Earlier this month, Silver Spring Networks filed an S-1 for its long anticipated IPO. It was so long anticipated that many had about given up, but through a series of smart grid acquisitions, including Toshiba’s pending payout for Landis+Gyr, we had renewed speculation.

Expected pricing for the IPO was not announced, but (more…)

The solar energy market is seeing mixed signals. BrightSource Energy’s IPO may appear to be the darling of the cleantech industry as it is widely seen as the benchmark for other cleantech companies vying for cash in the public marketplace. BrightSource looks very attractive. Its project in the Mojave Desert, (more…)

Clean tech investors seem to agree that the criteria for a sound investment are still focused on the “Team, Technology, and Markets.”  But according to John Denniston, Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, “We’re either at the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning” (March 15 Keynote at the 2011 San Francisco Cleantech Forum). This shift in the clean (more…)

On a day when the rest of the stock market was tanking, Tesla Motors cruised to an IPO win worth $226.1million.

Concerns over consumer confidence, the European economy and growth in China brought the market to its lowest level of the year finishing down 268 points. Don’t tell Tesla. In a clear testament to the position the automaker has already achieved as a brand, investors lined up for a ride as the company became the first American car manufacturer to go public since Ford in 1956. (more…)

Based on the rash of predictions for cleantech in 2010 from investors, consultants and media (see the full list at the end of this post), I’ve pulled together a “trend of trends” list below that attempts to synthesis the broader, over-arching themes. As always, I’m amazed that water isn’t on the top of every list, every year, although there are some positive signs on that front. So here are the 12 things that filtered to the top: (more…)

According to Eric Straser, a partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures and a pioneer in cleantech investing, “In 2009… cleantech…is now garnering nearly 20 percent of all dollars invested by VCs. In 2010, we’ll see public investors get into the action with several IPOs…”

So what VC trends should be influencing the development of your investment strategy?

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Amidst the global recession and discussions surrounding the capital intense nature of most clean tech companies and the question of viable exit strategies for the venture capitalists that invest in them, the IPO market will continue to be dry.

The broader IPO market has been relatively dry since the start of 2008, with relatively few listings compared to previous years (~25/year vs averages from 1980s to 2005 of around 400/year).

While Sarbanes-Oxley is partially to blame for the dearth of US based IPO’s the fact is the public’s faith in and funds for the markets have been squeezed, and I feel that it might be more than wishful thinking that 2010 will be a robust year for Wall Street based IPOs of any sort, particularly clean tech investments.

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