Canadian Solar Secures Project Financing from Prudential Capital Group and U.S. Bank

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Apr 25, 2017, 07:00 ET

GUELPH, Ontario, April 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar power companies, today announced that it has secured financing for its 92 MWp IS-42 solar power project near Fayetteville, North Carolina. The financing is in the form of a debt facility with Prudential Capital Group and a tax equity investment commitment from U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation (USBCDC).

Prudential Capital Group will provide a $97 million debt facility, including tax equity bridge loan, term loan, and revolving loan to the project. USBCDC, a division of U.S. Bank (NYSE: USB), will make a tax equity investment in the project under a separate agreement.

"This agreement with leading financial institutions such as Prudential Capital Group and U.S. Bank demonstrates the quality of the solar projects which Canadian Solar is developing in the U.S.," said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar. "We are glad to further strengthen our partnership with Prudential Capital Group and USBCDC with this large project and support the growth of the solar industry in the country."

"We are excited to support Canadian Solar in their efforts to construct and operate solar projects in the United States," said Wendy Carlson, Managing Director of Prudential Capital Group's Energy Finance Group: Power. "We are pleased to continue building our relationship with Canadian Solar and USBCDC."

"Canadian Solar is bringing an important piece of the renewable energy framework to North Carolina with this project. The estimated 509 construction jobs plus the permanent positions it will create are important factors for economic development in the state along with providing a clean source of renewable energy for residents," said Adam Altenhofen, Vice President of USBCDC.

The 92 MWp project, covering an area of approximately 450 acres in the Bladen and Cumberland counties of North Carolina, is currently under construction and is expected to reach commercial operation in the third quarter of 2017. The project has a long-term Power Purchase Agreement with Duke Energy Progress. Once operational, the project will generate enough clean solar energy to power approximately 11,750 homes in the state.

CohnReznick Capital Markets Securities acted as financial advisor to Canadian Solar in the transaction.

About Prudential Capital Group

Prudential Capital Group is the private placement arm of PGIM, the global investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. Prudential Capital Group manages a $76.8 billion portfolio of debt and equity investments and invests up to $12 billion, annually, in middle-market companies. Energy Finance Group: Power is part of Prudential Capital Group with $8 billion portfolio in power projects, utilities and cooperatives (as of December 31, 2016).

About U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation

With $23 billion in managed assets as of March 31, 2017, U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation, a subsidiary of U.S. Bank, provides innovative financing solutions for community development projects across the country using state and federally sponsored tax credit programs. USBCDC's commitments provide capital investment to areas that need it the most and have contributed to the creation of new jobs, the rehabilitation of historic buildings, the construction of needed affordable and market-rate homes, the development of renewable energy facilities, and the generation of commercial economic activity in underserved communities. Visit USBCDC on the web at www.usbank.com/cdc.

About Canadian Solar Inc.

Founded in 2001 in Canada, Canadian Solar is one of the world's largest and foremost solar power companies. As a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules and provider of solar energy solutions, Canadian Solar also has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale power projects in various stages of development. In the past 16 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 20 GW of premium quality modules to over 100 countries around the world. Furthermore, Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies in the solar industry, having been publicly listed on 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 regarding the Company's expected future shipment volumes, gross margins, business prospects and future results, 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; cancelation of utility-scale feed-in-tariff contracts in Japan; 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 20, 2016. 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.

SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.