German solar startup 1Komma5 has raised €150m, paving its way to a public listing. The funding is led by the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (Calstrs), a state pension fund.
Joining the pre-IPO financing round are G2 Venture Partners, 2150, Norrsken VC, Hamilton Lane, b2venture, Eurazeo, eCapital and some existing shareholders.
The round means a slight increase in valuation, Sifted understands, but the company — which achieved unicorn status last year — did not disclose an updated figure.
1Komma5, which was founded in 2021 and has raised €450m in total, had originally said it was targeting a 2025 listing, telling Sifted last year that it was aiming for a Nasdaq listing in the US rather than a European one. On raising its new financing, the company says it is now targeting a listing a year later, in 2026.
Hamburg-based 1Komma5 has built a marketplace for homeowners to buy and install carbon-neutral energy systems like solar panels and heat pumps, as well as providing the software to optimise consumption and bring down energy bills.
European solar companies have had a bruising year, hit by supply chain constraints and higher interest rates. 1Komma5 had revenue of around €540m this year, it told Bloomberg, missing its initial goal of €700m.
1Komma5’s model involves buying up smaller companies which employ electricians and installers, who can then sell and install their products, something it will continue to do with today’s new financing. That strategy differs from its main competitor in Germany — Enpal — which, instead of buying up smaller installer businesses, trains up new installers.
1Komma5’s acquisitions are paid for, in part, by giving acquired companies a re-participation in 1Komma5: giving them the right to participate in future fundraising activity and meaning they could profit from a potential IPO. “If we are listed, it’s much easier for us to do asset deals,” CEO and founder Philipp Schröder told Sifted last year.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/1komma5-e150m-pre-ipo-news/
