MiaSole About To Announce One of Year’s Largest Solar Rounds – Source

Solar module maker MiaSole will announce within two weeks “one of the larger solar financings this year,” according to a source familiar with the financing.

The prospect of another large round for a solar company breathes new life into a sector many VCs view as over-invested.

The news confirms a report last month that 9-year-old MiaSole is raising $100 million in anticipation of a 2011 IPO.

The source declined to reveal the specific dollar amount of the new round, but said it is “in excess of $50 million.”

MiaSole. based in Santa Clara, Calif., is one of a number of solar companies producing low-cost solar modules using copper indium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film technology. The company expects to bring new high-efficiency products to market next year. In a big win, MiaSole announced last month that it was one of two thin-film makers chosen by Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, to supply solar panels that will be installed on Wal-Mart rooftops. To start, Wal-Mart plans to install the solar panels on 20 to 30 stores in California and Arizona.

Greentech Media, citing a leaked document from one of MiaSole’s investors, previously reported that Miasole will use the funding to build out manufacturing capacity and prepare for an IPO in the first half of next year. Morgan Stanley wil be the lead underwriter of the IPO, Greentech Media reported. 

MiaSole has raised more than $300 million to date from a long list of venture backers. Its investors include ArcelorMittal, Atlas Venture, Bessemer Venture Partners, Crosslink Capital, Garage Technology Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and VantagePoint Venture Partners, according to Thomson Reuters (publisher of this blog). 

The source declined to say if the new financing would be an up round or disclose the valuation. The most recent valuation data available from Thomson Reuters shows that MiaSole raised a $35 million Series D in October 2006 at a post-money valuation of $364 million.