Home Security Firm ADT Enters Rooftop Solar Market in US with Sunpro Solar Acquisition

In a major change to the rooftop solar market in the US, home security giant ADT has entered rooftop solar segment by acquiring Sunpro Solar, rebranding the company as ADT Solar. ADT Inc has announced the deal for Sunpro Solar, at $160 million in cash plus approximately 77.8 million shares of ADT common stock, implying a total enterprise value of approximately $825 million. Sunpro will be rebranded as ADT Solar. ADT hopes to target its existing customer base with solar solutions now, besides the expanding market for solar. The rooftop solar market in the US is estimated at $15 billion. Sunpro Solar has been ranked as the no 2 Solar Installer in the US market with a claimed customer base of 30,000.

Sunpro founder Marc Jones and the existing management team are expected to  continue to help develop the newly formed ADT Solar.

Jim DeVries, ADT president and CEO, said “By combining a cash-flow-positive company in the high-growth solar space with ADT’s trusted brand, national footprint, and cross-sell potential, we can expand offerings to our customers and accelerate growth for both ADT and ADT Solar,”.

For ADT besides getting into an under penetrated segment, it’s own brand and customer base is expected to be a key driver of growth going ahead. With Solar finding favour with the federal and many state admins in the US, the approval process for fresh installs is also expected to be streamlined, with many states continuing to encourage higher rate of installations with subsidies or other benefits.

The corporate and industrial market is also expected to remain strong. The US market had a record year in 2020, despite the pandemic, which is obviously one reason everyone is now gung ho on future market growth.

With Tesla as one of the big solar rooftop brands through its Powerwall range and solar tiles, having more familiar names in the solar rooftop space will do no harm to speeding up expansion. Experts expect strong growth to 2030 and beyond in the market, though not the level of countries like Australia, where over 30% of independent houses have rooftop solar now.