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Vivint Solar

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Vivint Solar
Company typePublic
NYSE: VSLR
Russell 2000 Index component
IndustryRenewable energy
Founded2011 (2011)
DefunctOctober 2020 (2020-10) (purchased by Sunrun)
HeadquartersLehi, Utah
Areas served
23 states[1]
Key people
David Apalone Bywater (CEO)
Websitevivintsolar.com (defunct)

Vivint Solar was an American provider of photovoltaic solar energy generation systems, primarily for residential customers. The company was established in 2011 as an offshoot of home automation and security company Vivint and was headquartered in Lehi, Utah. The company primarily used a power purchase agreement (PPA) business model where Vivint Solar installed and maintained a solar system on a customer's home, then sold power to the customer at an agreed upon rate for a set term. In 2020, the company was purchased by Sunrun, another solar company primarily focused on the PPA business model for $3.2 billion.[2]

At the time of the merger, Vivint Solar had installed a total of 1.29 gigawatts of power for over 188,000 customers[3] in 23 U.S. states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia).[4][5]

History

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Vivint Solar was founded in October 2011 as the solar division of the home automation and security company Vivint.[6] The company marketed solar as part of its Smart Home product, with customers able to track energy consumption to save electricity.[7]

In November 2012, the Blackstone Group acquired a controlling interest in Vivint, Vivint Solar, and 2GIG Technologies for in excess of $2 billion.[8] After the Blackstone acquisition, the solar division became a stand alone company[9] and grew to become the second largest residential solar installer in the United States in 2013, mostly through door-to-door sales.[10][11] In October 2014, Vivint Solar went public on the New York Stock Exchange.[12] A class-action lawsuit was filed against Vivint in December 2014, with allegations that the company misled investors in their initial public offering by omitting data that showed the company's PPA model was falling out of favor with consumers. Vivint contended that the lawsuit lacked legal merit.[13]

In July 2015, SunEdison announced plans to buy Vivint Solar for US$2.2 billion,[14] but the deal fell through by March 2016 with Vivint Solar suing for a "willful breach" of the planned merger. Shortly after, SunEdison entered bankruptcy.[15]

Vivint Solar struggled after the failed merger attempt with investors noting that while the company had greater access to capital, installation of home solar panels fell substantially with a drop of 21% from late 2015 to late 2016.[16] Also contributing to Vivint's financial troubles was the fact that starting in 2016, the PPA model was losing favor with consumers who increasingly preferred to buy solar power systems outright.[17] Starting in late 2016, Vivint Solar started offering loans and cash sales, leading to 84% year-over-year growth in revenue.[18] Also in 2016, Vivint Solar introduced a new CEO, David Bywater.[19]

The company entered the home energy storage market in 2017, announcing a partnership with Mercedes-Benz Energy to offer home storage batteries.[20][21] The partnership was announced less than a year later, with LG Chem becoming the company's battery provider.[22]

In 2018, The Attorney General of New Mexico filed a lawsuit against Vivint Solar, Inc. saying it was engaging in unfair and unconscionable business practices including clouding titles to consumers’ homes, fraud and racketeering.[23] Later in 2018, Vivint counter-sued the New Mexico Attorney General.[24][25]

In July 2020, Sunrun announced that it would acquire Vivint Solar for $3.2 billion.[26] By early October 2020, the acquisition was completed following the approval by regulators and stockholders of both companies, creating a valuation of approximately $22 billion.[27]

References

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  1. ^ "Vivint Solar Coverage Area". Vivint Solar. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved Aug 2, 2019.
  2. ^ "Solar Deal Would Create a New Industry Giant". The New York Times. 10 July 2020. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  3. ^ Hill, Joshua S. (8 November 2018). "Vivint Solar Reaches 1 Gigawatt Of Rooftop Solar Amidst Strong Q3 & California Expansion". CleanTechnica. Archived from the original on 17 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Vivint Solar Secures New $325 Million Credit Facility Lowering Cost of Debt". www.prnewswire.com. 6 August 2019. Archived from the original on 2020-01-01. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  5. ^ "Vivint Solar Coverage Area". Vivint Solar. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved Jul 16, 2017.
  6. ^ "Home security packaged with energy and solar". CNET. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved Feb 11, 2011.
  7. ^ "Smart-home innovator Vivint announces new AI assistant and unique Airbnb partnership". 7 January 2017. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  8. ^ De La Merced, Michael J. (September 18, 2012). "Blackstone to Buy Control of Vivint, a Home Security Provider". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 25, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  9. ^ "Blackstone $2 Billion Acquisition Ties in Solar and Home Automation". 24/7 Wall Street. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved Sep 19, 2012.
  10. ^ "VivintKnock! Knock! Solar company wins converts going door to door". Reuters. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved Nov 3, 2013.
  11. ^ Assis, Claudia. "Elon Musk plans crazy 2017 for Tesla, but SolarCity may be the biggest headache". Marketwatch. Archived from the original on 2018-01-20. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  12. ^ Wang, Ucilia (1 October 2014). "Vivint Solar Makes Public Market Debut, Shares Up Modestly". Forbes. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  13. ^ Karl-Erik Stromsta Lawsuits against Vivint Solar 'lack merit', company say Archived 2017-04-13 at the Wayback Machine, RechargeNews.com 12 December 2014, accessed 03 Aug 2017
  14. ^ Fehrenbacher, Katie (20 July 2015). "Why SunEdison is buying Vivint Solar for $2.2 billion". Fortune. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  15. ^ "Vivint Solar's $1 Billion Lawsuit Adds to SunEdison Bankruptcy Uncertainty". 13 July 2016. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  16. ^ Christian Roselund (2017). Vivint Solar installations decline in Q4 Archived 2017-04-13 at the Wayback Machine, PVMag.com, 16 March 2017; accessed 12 April 2017
  17. ^ "Vivint Solar Is Struggling To Survive (NYSE:VSLR) | Seeking Alpha". seekingalpha.com. Archived from the original on 2022-11-29. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
  18. ^ "Solar Earnings in a Trump World: SunPower, SolarCity, SolarEdge, Vivint". greentechmedia.com. 10 November 2016. Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  19. ^ "Vivint Solar names BYU, Harvard grad as new CEO". Deseret News. 19 December 2016. Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  20. ^ "Mercedes-Benz and Vivint Solar partner to compete with Tesla in home energy". CNBC. 18 May 2017. Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  21. ^ Cardwell, Diane (18 May 2017). "Mercedes-Benz Brings a New Model (Of Battery) to U.S. Homes". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  22. ^ Hoium, Travis (2018-05-16). "Vivint Solar Is Already Falling Behind in Energy Storage". The Motley Fool. Archived from the original on 2022-10-03. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
  23. ^ Groom, Nichola (8 March 2018). "New Mexico sues Vivint Solar over sales tactics". Reuters, Mar 8, 2018. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Vivint Solar files countersuit in New Mexico civil case". Deseret News, Dec 20, 2018. 20 December 2018. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  25. ^ "VIVINT Solar Press Release". Archived from the original on 2020-09-23. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  26. ^ Penn, Ivan (July 10, 2020). "Solar Deal Would Create a New Industry Giant". New York Times. Archived from the original on July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  27. ^ "Sunrun Acquires Vivint Solar Creating a Valuation of $22B". Yahoo! Finance. Zacks Equity Research. October 13, 2020. Archived from the original on October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
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