Mitsubishi Corp.’s road into the US solar business has taken the Japanese conglomerate to Liberty Square in Boston’s Financial District.
That’s the home of Nexamp Inc., the solar developer and installer that sold a “near majority’’ stake to a Mitsubishi energy subsidiary on Monday.
Paula Zagrecki, a vice president at Mitsubishi’s Diamond Generating Corp., said she hired the advisory firm CohnReznick in January to vet potential investment targets in the commercial, industrial, and community-shared solar space. At the same time, Nexamp chief executive Zaid Ashai was looking for new investors for his firm.
The timing was perfect for these two partners: Nexamp ended up being Mitsubishi’s top choice. Zagrecki said the culture was a good fit, and the 45-person Nexamp team had the skills and expertise she sought.
Plus, she said, Massachusetts’ state government has the right kind of policies in place to spur solar construction.
Zagrecki and Ashai were not saying much about the deal’s specifics, though Zagrecki conceded it could lead to a full acquisition of Nexamp in a few years.
One thing is clear: The Boston venture capital firm PJC (formerly Point Judith Capital) remains on board as a key shareholder.
Now, it’s time to expand. Ashai said Nexamp is active in five states and is starting to make inroads in another three, all on the East Coast. As a result of Mitsubishi’s investment, Ashai said he hopes Nexamp can add another five to 10 states within 18 months, including California.
Zagrecki said more deals with other solar installers could be part of that growth.
“Too often, we hear stories in Boston about companies that don’t scale,’’ Ashai said, referring to the longtime complaint that a relatively limited number of businesses gain a national scope from Boston.
“This is going to be different. This is going to be a company that scales nationally. . . . Our goal is to have a national leading solar player that’s based here in Boston.’’
Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jonchesto.
