NewWorld Capital Group, CCM US LLC, and Constellation Invest in Astrum Solar, Inc.

NEW YORK, Nov. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- NewWorld Capital Group, LLC today announced a strategic investment in Astrum Solar, a residential solar installer with industry-leading installation and customer acquisition costs and capital efficiency. NewWorld will also assume a seat on Astrum's Board of Directors. NewWorld's co-investors in the transaction were CCM US, LLC and Constellation.

Astrum Solar is a leading designer and installer of residential solar photovoltaic arrays on the East Coast. Astrum's software-enabled management systems have allowed the Company to grow rapidly while offering best-in-class quality and performance. The company partners with third-party lease and loan financing providers to offer its customers cost-effective solar financing.

Recent declines in the installed cost of residential solar, coupled with continuing high retail electricity prices and increased availability of financing for residential customers, have opened up a vast market of homeowners who can adopt solar to immediately reduce their electricity bills. The U.S. residential solar market is less than 5% penetrated today and is forecast to grow at nearly 40% per year through 2017. The NewWorld-led investment will enable Astrum Solar to expand its operations into selected new markets across the United States.

Vadim Polikov, President of Astrum Solar, said, "The Astrum management team is extremely pleased to partner with NewWorld Capital and CCM US, along with our Series A investor, Constellation, as we expand our served markets across the United States. The investor groups understand the residential solar market and are positioned to support Astrum in its continuing development efforts. We look forward to a fruitful collaboration, as we jointly build Astrum into an industry leader in the enormous and rapidly growing residential solar market."

Bill Hallisey, a Managing Partner at NewWorld, noted, "We are excited to be partnering with the management team of Astrum Solar and our co-investors in helping to build the residential solar industry in the United States. Astrum is a top-tier performer. Astrum's management team may well be the best management team in the solar industry. We look forward to sharing in the Company's success, as it develops its leading position in the residential solar industry."

Michael D. Smith, Vice President, Head of Technology Ventures for Constellation, said, "Astrum is a proven leader in the residential solar market whose business model aligns with Constellation's strategy of bringing more innovative solutions to customers. We're pleased to reaffirm our commitment with our second round of equity investment in Astrum."

About Astrum Solar

Astrum Solar is the leading full-service residential solar provider headquartered in the Eastern U.S., serving homeowners and small businesses in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, DC, and West Virginia. Astrum Solar's mission is to spread solar power to the rooftops of America and to ensure that its customers get the most out of their solar panels: the most energy generated, the most electricity savings, the most beneficial environmental impact, and the most joy each time they see a sunny day. Astrum Solar was on the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies List in 2012 and 2013. (www.astrumsolar.com)

About NewWorld Capital Group, LLC

NewWorld Capital Group is a private equity firm focused on investing in the rapidly growing environmental opportunities sector, principally in the United States and Canada. NewWorld makes growth equity and control investments in rapidly-growing mid-sized and smaller companies in energy efficiency, clean energy, water reclamation and reuse, waste-to-value, and related environmental services. The Firm does not accept technology risk and invests only when a productive partnership can be formed with company management. NewWorld was founded by a group of experienced investors and business builders from General Electric, McKinsey, and several private equity firms. (www.newworldcapital.net)

About CCM US LLC

CCM is a Washington, DC based asset manager focused on investing in clean energy and commercial real estate in the United States and Latin America. Historically a real estate firm, the CCM family of companies includes ownership, leasing, management and development of commercial real estate in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S. and Puerto Rico. In clean energy, CCM invests expansion capital into rapidly growing companies with a proven solution in the green building, green construction, and distributed energy sectors. The firm provides its portfolio companies with deep expertise and connections in the real estate industry, as well as CCM's extensive portfolio of owned and managed buildings into which clean energy solutions can be deployed.

About Constellation

The Constellation family of retail electricity and natural gas suppliers (www.constellation.com) are subsidiaries of Exelon Corp. and are leading competitive retail suppliers of power, natural gas and energy products and services for homes and businesses across the continental United States. Constellation's retail businesses serve more than 100,000 business and public sector customers, including more than two-thirds of the Fortune 100, and nearly one million residential customers.

Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC) is the nation's leading competitive energy provider, with 2012 revenues of approximately $23.5 billion. Headquartered in Chicago, Exelon has operations and business activities in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. Exelon is one of the largest competitive U.S. power generators, with approximately 35,000 megawatts of owned capacity, comprising one of the nation's cleanest and lowest-cost power generation fleets.

SOURCE NewWorld Capital Group