Huard Talks About Wind IPO In Electric Power Daily
“First Wind Looking For Investors With IPO As Debt Mounts”
Platts Electric Power Daily
January 26, 2010 – Manatt’s David L. Huard, co-chair of the firm’s Energy, Environment and Natural Resources practice group, was interviewed by Platts Electric Power Daily for a report on First Wind, a Massachusetts-based wind developer, and their recent request for approval of an initial public offering (IPO). According to the article, IPOs are uncommon in the energy sector.
In the Electric Power Daily report, Huard notes that First Wind’s IPO is particularly unusual in the wind industry because it is capital intensive and relatively mature. Rather, the industry tends towards “a lot of merger and acquisition activity,” Huard told the publication. “The difference between an IPO and straight takeover is really the amount of risk you are willing to absorb. In an IPO, investors take the amount of risk equal to the amount of stock they purchase. If you buy an entire company, you take on 100 percent of the risk and receive an equal amount of reward.”
First Wind filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in late December. The IPO is currently undergoing regulatory review.