Sunrun Acquires Vivint Solar (2020)
In October 2020, Sunrun completed a $3.2 billion acquisition of Vivint Solar, the second-largest US residential solar installer. The all-stock deal nearly doubled Sunrun's market share, creating a company with 500,000+ customers and 3 GW of capacity—the largest residential solar provider in America. At the time, both companies were profitable and analysts framed consolidation as a growth strategy to achieve economies of scale.
Sunrun achieved $90M in annual cost synergies and cemented market leadership.
The deal set precedent for M&A as the industry's primary growth strategy, foreshadowing today's distressed acquisitions.
The Sunrun-Vivint deal was consolidation from strength—combining two healthy firms. Today's wave involves scavengers picking through bankruptcy wreckage. Otovo's SSP acquisition represents the new reality: buying customers, not capabilities.