SunPower Rises on Formation of Joint Credit Facility with Morgan

Shares of solar power device manufacturer SunPower Corp. rose 4.33% in pre-market action Wednesday (as of 8:14 AM ET) as the company announced Morgan Stanley would provide it with up to $190 million in financing for future commercial solar projects. The funding will take the form of a jointly held credit facility to which SunPower will contribute an additional $10 million of its own. SunPower can access the funds for "future commercial and public agency solar electric power installations" through 2008 under the auspices of its SunPower Access program. The program allows partnering electric power facilities to purchase electricity generated by SunPower's solar systems and resell it directly to consumers. The terms of SunPower and Morgan Stanley's arrangement, including the extent of revenue sharing, weren't disclosed. SunPower CEO Tom Werner said in the press release, "This agreement with Morgan Stanley offers our customers a more efficient and cost-competitive process to realize the financial savings and environmental benefits of solar power." Morgan shares were up 1.53% in pre-market action (as of 8:15 AM ET).

Sources: Press release, MarketWatch, RTT News, AP, Reuters
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Earnings call transcript: SunPower Q3 2007

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