First Wind yanks IPO

Wind farm developer First Wind has shelved its plans for an initial public offering (IPO) after cutting its offering price by nearly 25 percent.

We reported earlier this week that the company’s IPO was up in the air, given its large debt load. The company had planned to offer 12 million shares between $24 and $26. At the mid-point of that range, First Wind’s market value would have been $1.2 billion, according to Renaissance Capital.

But on Wednesday, the company pared down the price to $18 to $20 a share, then today shelved its plans entirely. Indeed, Reuters speculates the company’s heavy debt load kept it from pricing within the range it wanted. Cleantech IPOs have already had some shaky successes this year, with Amyris and Elster recently IPO-ing below planned ranges — but still successfully raising money.

CEO Paul Gaynor told MarketWatch that the company “received significant interest” from potential investors, but the terms “were not attractive to the company.”

It’s certainly not the first cleantech IPO to falter. Solyndra pulled its public offering plans earlier this year, and PetroAlgae’s $200 million IPO has been widely predicted to go the same way.

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