Vivint Solar Tanks as SunEdison Financing Wavers

Shares of Vivint Solar Inc. (NYSE: VSLR) sank Wednesday following a report that banks that had committed to financing Vivint’s $2 billion buyout by SunEdison Inc. (NYSE: SUNE) were having second thoughts about the merger. Vivint’s shares were halted for about 10 minutes Wednesday afternoon for volatility.

The problem is not so much with Vivint as with SunEdison. Yesterday the solar PV maker said it would delay filing its 2015 financial report as it investigates claims regarding the accuracy of its financial disclosures.

But that could just have been the final straw. Since announcing the deal last July, SunEdison’s shares have dropped from a high of $33.45 to open Wednesday morning at $1.50, a full 97%. SunEdison’s shares rose more than 19% on Wednesday to close at $1.79 and are trading a couple of pennies higher in the after-hours session.

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According to The Wall Street Journal, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Citigroup, and UBS were all providing loans to SunEdison and all have now balked at doing so. Up-to-date and accurate financial statements are a typical borrowing requirement, and SunEdison’s announced delay on top of a nearly invisible stock price had to give any reasonable banker second thoughts.

But while SunEdison stock rose on the news, Vivint stock fell 25% to close at $4.89 after posting a new 52-week low of $4.52 earlier. Shares have climbed back up about 2.3% in the after hours session.

Shares of TerraForm Power Inc. (NASDAQ: TERP), SunEdison’s yieldco which was going to become the owner of the Vivint business, also got a share price increase today, rising about 6.5% to close at $10.12 in a 52-week range of $6.73 to $42.66.