Azure Power Global debuted on the New York Stock exchange as the first India solar company to go public in the U.S. under the trading symbol “AZRE”.  The company had earlier revised its IPO filing to raise $75 million (~Rs.5 billion) from the previously announced $140 million (~Rs.9.32 billion) and offered 3,409,091 shares at a price of $18/share (~Rs.1,199/share), below the marketed price range of $21-$23/share (~Rs.1,399- Rs.1,532/share).

On the first day of trading, Azure Power Global’s shares opened at $16.12/share (~Rs.1,074/share) and at market close on Friday the stock price was at $13.75 (~Rs.916), a decline of about 24 percent compared to the issue price.

“Azure has decided to go public when a majority of solar companies are struggling in the stock market,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO and Co-Founder of Mercom Capital Group. “Very few solar company stocks are in the positive territory year-to-date. High debt levels and lack of profitability has kept investors away from solar public companies.”

According to recent filings, in addition to its IPO, Azure raised an additional $75 million (~Rs.5 billion) through a concurrent private placement with CDPQ Infrastructures Asia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

According to Mercom’s Q3 2016 Solar Funding and M&A Report, this is only the second solar IPO this year.

Image credit: By James Smith [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons