Protection 1 Raises $250 Million for Residential Solar Systems

(Bloomberg) — Protection 1, a closely held security
company backed by private equity firm GTCR LLC, raised more than
$250 million to fund its residential solar operations.

Protection 1’s Brite Energy unit began offering rooftop
power systems in San Diego in September, and now has six offices
in “multiple U.S. states,” according to a statement today.
It’s working with MySolar IX LLC, a joint venture of Morgan
Stanley
and Main Street Power Co.

Protection 1 has almost 2 million residential and
commercial customers in the U.S., and is seeking to leverage
these relationships to expand into solar power. Brite Energy
typically leases systems using a model similar to those of
SolarCity Corp. and Vivint Solar Inc. The financing will cover
development costs. About $200 million came from Morgan Stanley
and $50 million from GTCR.

“We love the idea of being able to make a national
footprint and meet that solar demand over the next five or 10
years,” Chief Executive Officer Timothy Whall said today.

Less than 1 percent of U.S. homes have solar power.

“There’s such a low penetration rate,” Whall said in a
telephone interview. “We found a good time to get in.”

To contact the reporter on this story:
Justin Doom in New York at
jdoom1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at
landberg@bloomberg.net
Will Wade, Steven Frank

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