Aston Capital, a limited partnership private equity firm, yesterday announced the formation of LightCap I Fund to finance LED lighting purchases and installations for Revolution Lighting Technologies customers.
LightCap I Fund will now offer Revolution Lighting customers with flexible, customized and turnkey financing solutions that will allow them to invest in LED lighting projects and benefit from the significant savings in energy and related costs without any initial investment. The financing will generally cover all LED product purchases and associated costs, including amortization, and enable Revolution Lighting customers to retain a significant portion of the annual savings from day one.
“Commercial, industrial, municipal and university customers are recognizing the significant financial savings that can be realized from the transition to solid state LED sources,” said Robert V. LaPenta, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Aston Capital. “We are creating LightCap I Fund to provide Revolution Lighting customers with the necessary capital to purchase and install LED products, a challenge that has historically kept certain customers out of the LED market. Now, they will be able to make the proven transition and quickly benefit from the financial return on their LED investment.”
LaPenta concluded, “LightCap I Fund will be funded by Aston Capital as well as other investors that are interested in investing in LED lighting projects. We look forward to putting our capital to work and partnering with outside investors to fund LED projects that will deliver positive financial and environmental returns.”
“This fund offers an innovative financing solution that will open up an enormous amount of market opportunities, helping to accelerate customer decisions to move forward with LED projects that will significantly reduce their energy use and costs,” said Charles J. Schafer, President and Chief Financial Officer of Revolution Lighting Technologies. “In addition, it will reduce energy and maintenance expenses that will allow Revolution Lighting customers to reinvest in other aspects of their operations and improve not only their energy efficiency, but their overall business for the long term. We are confident that LightCap I Fund will be the factor needed to move the needle in the next phase of commercial LED adoption and integration.”
During the second quarter of 2013, LightCap I Fund provided approximately $4 million of funding for LED projects. Under the arrangements, Revolution Lighting was paid for the LED products through financing agreements between LightCap I and the customers who will pay back LightCap I over defined periods through a percentage of the energy and associated cost savings. Other than its normal warranty on LED products, Revolution Lighting has no direct or indirect obligation to the Fund or its customers.
