10 January 2011
Chinese solar wafer company LDK Solar has grabbed a 70% interest in solar module designer and manufacturer Solar Power, in a $33 million deal, while another solar transaction saw Arizona-based First Solar snap up technology company RayTracker.
LDK’s buy up, announced last Thursday, will give Silicon Valley-based Solar Power a welcome capital injection, priming development of the company’s US project pipeline of large-scale power plants and generation systems.
Solar Power’s assets include the 6MW Aerojet solar installation in California. However, the company has long suffered funding delays and posted a net loss of $9.1 million for the first nine months of 2010.
For LDK, a New York Stock Exchange-listed manufacturer of multi-crystalline solar wafers and polysilicon modules, the deal opens the door to the US solar market.
Under the transaction terms, LDK will acquire components of Solar Power’s manufacturing equipment and will take control of the company’s former module manufacturing facility in Shenzhen, China. Solar Power will retain its in-house project development team.
The acquisition had little impact on the bourse, with stock prices for LDK closing at $10.29, down from an opening price of $10.41, the day the deal was announced. However, LDK shares rose more than 20% to $12.45 today after the company raised its fourth quarter forecast revenue from $710 million-$750 million to $870 million-$910 million.
RayTracker acquisition boosts First Solar shares
In a separate solar deal announced on Friday, Nasdaq-listed First Solar has bolstered its renewables offering with the acquisition of US company RayTracker for an undisclosed sum.
RayTracker’s solar tracking technology is designed to increase the energy yield of photovoltaic installations. The company was spun out of Californian solar product manufacturer Energy Innovations in 2009 and is backed by technology support company Idealab.
News of the transaction helped First Solar stocks rise 2.7% on Friday, reaching an intra-day high of $1.355 on Friday.
Charlotte Dudley
