BEIJING --
Hanergy Holding Group Ltd. bought MiaSole Inc., a California-based
thin-film panel maker backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and
ArcelorMittal, to increase capacity in anticipation of a solar industry
revival.
The acquisition by the Beijing-based renewable-energy producer
is its second in a less than a year after it bought the Solibro unit of
Germany’s Q-Cells SE in June, Hanergy said in a statement today.
Financial terms of the purchase weren’t disclosed.
Hanergy “has been actively expanding production
capacity as we expect a rebound in the second half of this year” or in
the first six months of 2014, Chairman Li Hejun said at a press
conference in Beijing today. The company, which will continue to seek
technology acquisitions, expects to produce 2.5 gigawatts of panels this
year, compared with “several hundred megawatts” last year, Li said.
Chinese renewable-energy companies,
including solar-wafer maker LDK Solar Co., are buying companies in the
west, where slowing demand and rising supply have trimmed profit
margins. The purchases also give Hanergy technology to compete with
First Solar Inc., the biggest maker of thin-film panels by shipments.
A thin-film solar cell is made by placing layers of
photovoltaic material on a semiconductor wafer. MiaSole’s products are
made using copper, indium, gallium and selenium, instead of silicon, and
are designed for large rooftop and ground-mounted industrial
deployment, according to its website.
MiaSole and Solibro “can share patents, technology,
supply chains and commercial synergies,” John Carrington, chief
executive officer at MiaSole, told reporters today.
The Santa Clara-based company’s other investors
include VantagePoint Venture Partners, Firelake Capital Management and
Passport Capital, according to its website.
Copyright 2013 Bloomberg
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/01/hanergy-buys-thin-film-solar-panel-maker-miasole
No comments:
Post a Comment