GUELPH, ON, July 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ) announced today that it has closed a BRL 500 million (approximately US$100 million) financing facility with Brazilian banks BTG Pactual and Itaú BBA.
Canadian Solar will use the financing facility for the development and construction of solar projects in Brazil, where the Company has established a leadership position in the solar energy market. The facility will fund up to 70% of Canadian Solar's equity contributions in a subset of its Brazilian project portfolio, a unique structure in the local market. BTG Pactual and Itaú BBA, two leading investment and commercial banks in Brazil and long-term Canadian Solar partners in Latin America, are also financial advisors to the Company's Brazilian portfolio.
Canadian Solar has developed and contracted in federal, regional and private PPA auctions nearly 3 GWp of solar projects in Brazil. Of this, 480 MWp are in operation and have been sold to third parties, 483 MWp are under construction (with 80% interest already sold), and an additional 2 GWp are under development with PPA contracts. Canadian Solar's portfolio in Brazil is the largest in the market and the financing facility will support the plan to establish a publicly listed vehicle (FIP-IE) with operating projects, depending on market conditions, while providing flexibility on the timing of monetizing projects.
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar commented, "We are grateful and pleased to collaborate again with BTG Pactual and Itaú BBA to finance the development and construction of more solar assets in Brazil. With this facility, we can further leverage our equity contribution to build projects in Brazil and monetize them post-COD at attractive valuation, while maintaining the option to retain meaningful long-term ownership. We look forward to executing on our large backlog and pipeline of solar projects in Brazil and supporting the country's renewable power and energy security goals."
About BTG Pactual
BTG Pactual (BPAC11) is the largest investment bank in Latin America, operating in Investment Banking, Corporate Lending, Sales & Trading, Wealth Management and Asset Management. Since inception in 1983, the Bank has been operating based on a meritocratic partnership culture, focused on clients, excellence and a long-term vision. It has cemented its status as one of the most innovative sector players and has won numerous national and international awards. Currently, it has close to 4,000 employees in offices across Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, the U.S., Portugal and England. For more information go to http://www.btgpactual.com.
About Itaú BBA
Itau BBA is one of the leading investment banks in Brazil with services ranging from financial advisory, local and international capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, derivatives and credit facilities. Itaú BBA is listed on the B3/São Paulo stock exchange and has BRL 994 billion assets under management and a BRL 260 billion credit portfolio in Brazil, as of March 2021. Itaú BBA is part of Itaú Unibanco Group, which is the largest private bank in Brazil, the largest financial institution in Latin America and one of the largest in the world. For the 16th consecutive year, Itaú Unibanco was considered the most valuable brand in Brazil according to the Interbrand Ranking.
About Canadian Solar Inc.
Canadian Solar was founded in 2001 in Canada and is one of the world's largest solar technology and renewable energy companies. It is a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules, provider of solar energy and battery storage solutions, and developer of utility-scale solar power and battery storage projects with a geographically diversified pipeline in various stages of development. Over the past 20 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 55 GW of premium-quality, solar photovoltaic modules to customers across the world. Likewise, since entering the solar project development business in 2010, Canadian Solar has developed, built and connected over 5.7 GWp in over 20 countries across the world. Currently, the Company has around 500 MWp of projects in operation, nearly 6 GWp of projects under construction or in backlog (late-stage), and an additional 15 GWp of projects in pipeline (mid- to early- stage). Additionally, Canadian Solar has 1.2 GWh of battery storage projects under construction, and nearly 17 GWh of battery storage projects in backlog or pipeline. Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies in the solar and renewable energy industry, having been publicly listed on the NASDAQ since 2006. For additional information about the Company, follow Canadian Solar on LinkedIn or visit www.canadiansolar.com.
Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These statements are made under the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by such terms as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates," the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include general business and economic conditions and the state of the solar industry; governmental support for the deployment of solar power; future available supplies of high-purity silicon; demand for end-use products by consumers and inventory levels of such products in the supply chain; changes in demand from significant customers; changes in demand from major markets such as Japan, the U.S., India and China; changes in customer order patterns; changes in product mix; capacity utilization; level of competition; pricing pressure and declines in average selling prices; delays in new product introduction; delays in utility-scale project approval process; delays in utility-scale project construction; delays in the completion of project sales; continued success in technological innovations and delivery of products with the features customers demand; shortage in supply of materials or capacity requirements; availability of financing; exchange rate fluctuations; litigation and other risks as described in the Company's SEC filings, including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on April 25, 2019. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance, or achievements. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All information provided in this press release is as of today's date, unless otherwise stated, and Canadian Solar undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.
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