Plextronics closes $14 million financing round

PITTSBURGH, USA: Plextronics Inc. announced that it has completed a $14 million Series B-1 financing round.

The round was led by Solvay North American Investments, LLC, a member of the Solvay Group, which is an international chemical and pharmaceutical group headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Marking Solvay’s second investment in three years, its $12 million investment makes Solvay the largest minority shareholder in Plextronics.

Plextronics’ President and CEO Andy Hannah said that the financing will allow the company to continue to grow its research, development and pilot manufacturing programs, all of which are aimed at the commercialization of its technology.

"The funding from this round will enable us to continue to advance our lighting and solar products –- namely our Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) and Organic Photovoltaic (OPV) materials and inks –- so that we can scale these products to meet the customer and industry demand we are seeing," said Hannah.

Hannah also indicated that the affiliation with Solvay has gone very well since the two companies began working together in 2007.

"The global collaboration that our companies envisioned a couple of years ago is going even better than we could have imagined. To have a corporate investor like Solvay that understands our markets, technology and the opportunities that await us is extremely important," Hannah said. "Solvay has become a true partner."

“Solvay has identified organic electronics and sustainable energy as platforms for future growth based on radical innovation. The group believes that the new materials and technologies, which it is currently developing through its own R&D efforts and a number of partnerships with technological leaders, convey potential solutions to some of our contemporary societies’ most acute issues, such as the cost-effective implementation of renewable energy sources and energy-efficient devices,” said Léopold Demiddeleer, Solvay’s General Manager of Future Businesses Competence Center.

“With its cutting edge technology, Plextronics is a perfect partner for one of Solvay’s most promising innovation platforms,” added Demiddeleer.

Several of Plextronics’ existing private investors also contributed to this B-1 financing. Prior to today’s announcement, the last financing round Plextronics completed was a $25 million Series B financing in 2007.