Evergreen Solar eyes $165M debt sale (Boston)

Evergreen Solar Inc. announced plans Tuesday to raise up to $165 million in a convertible-debt offering to institutional investors.

The five-year notes will be secured with a first-priority lien “on substantially all of the assets owned by Evergreen Solar,” subject to certain exceptions, the company said.

The notes come due in 2015, and investors will have the right to require Evergreen to repurchase the notes at 100 percent of their principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, on April 15, 2013. Evergreen (Nasdaq: ESLR) said the notes will be convertible into company shares of common stock at an initial conversion rate of 525.25 shares per $1,000 in principal amount of the notes in questions. That ratio now stands at approximately $1.90 per share. The initial conversion ratio os subject to adjustments “upon the occurrence of certain events,” the company said.

The announcement comes a day after Evergreen reported strong initial revenue estimates for the first quarter as well as ongoing troubles with a Germany-based joint venture that has fallen on challenging times.

Read the full story in the Boston Business Journal.