By Pritam Biswas and Pragyan Kalita
Feb 11 (Reuters) – SOLV Energy’s shares rose 20% in its New York debut on Wednesday, giving the solar and battery storage firm a valuation of $5.98 billion, underscoring a strong rebound in IPO activity in 2026.
Shares opened at $30, above its initial public offering price of $25 at which it sold 20.5 million shares on Tuesday to raise $512.5 million.
Strong equity markets, helped by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate cuts toward the end of 2025, have improved pricing conditions and encouraged more companies to pursue public listings.
Also, a slowdown last year due to market volatility stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump’s shifting tariffs and a government shutdown created pent-up demand among issuers.
Later this week, Wall Street firm Clear Street is set to go public, seeking a valuation of nearly $12 billion — the biggest this year.
SOLV Energy provides construction, operation and maintenance services for large-scale solar and battery storage projects. It was founded in 2008.
Originally a division of Swinerton Builders, the business was acquired in 2021 by private equity firm American Securities, along with SOLV, which was then a separate company.
SOLV Energy had a total backlog of about $8 billion as of December 2025, driven primarily by engineering and construction contracts.
“It gives us a lot of visibility into the next 24 to 36 months as we see this backlog continue to move through the business and it gives us a lot of certainty of how the business will perform moving forward,” SOLV CEO George Hershman said in an interview with Reuters.
Hershman said SOLV’s intention was to delever the balance sheet, pay off a term loan and come out of the IPO debt-free.
Jefferies and J.P. Morgan are the joint lead book-running managers for the offering.
(Reporting by Pritam Biswas and Pragyan Kalita in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
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