Investors put $7.5M into solar company OPEL: Securities sale

OPEL International, which makes solar energy equipment, has completed a securities sale that has brought in $7.54 million.

The company will use the money to increase its inventories and make infrastructure improvements, said Mike McCoy, OPEL International´s chief financial officer and treasurer.

There is growing demand for the business´ photovoltaic solar panels and other equipment it makes that are used to produce energy from the sun´s rays, McCoy said.

"Things are really starting to happen for us domestically," he said. "There´s a couple of utility grade projects that we´re working on in this country that we need to increase our inventories for."

OPEL International hired a Toronto investment bank, IBK Capital, in June to oversee the stock offering that raised the money.

OPEL International officials said at the time that they chose IBK Capital to serve as the lead investment bank for the offering because William White, president of the financial institution, has a long-standing relationship with the company.

White raised $19 million in early funding for OPEL International between December 2005 and December 2007.

"There are about 40 investors that are involved in this private placement, and about 80 percent of them are people who invested in us in the past," McCoy said.

Investors purchased a combination of common shares of OPEL International stock and a half of a common share purchase warrant, which is a certificate that gives the purchaser the right to buy securities at a stated price for a stated period of time in the future.

Acquiring a full warrant from OPEL International entitles the person who owns it to acquire an additional share of common stock at the price of 50 cents per share through July 21, 2012.

Terms of the deal prohibit any of the securities that were purchased from being traded until Nov. 22.

McCoy said the company opted to go with a private placement rather than a public stock offering because it needed to raise additional capital fairly quickly.

"Private placement is a little quicker because you´re getting involved with investors who specialize in certain types of businesses," he said.