Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. arranged an $8 million private placement for Worldwide Energy and Manufacturing USA to buy raw materials for the solar products it makes.
The South San Francisco, Calif., and Shanghai-based company, which specializes in solar module technology, is selling 1.7 million shares for $4.50 each. That represents a 20.4% discount to where Worldwide shares closed yesterday. The company is also issuing five-year warrants to purchase another 1.7 million shares for $5.65 each.
Some Worldwide officers agreed to place a total of another 1.7 million shares that they control into escrow to secure the company's obligation to achieve EBITDA of at least $4 million this year. The escrowed shares will be distributed to the investors if Worldwide Energy misses the earnings target.
The company said it plans to use the proceeds from the private placement to purchase raw materials to fulfill a backlog of $58 million in orders.
