Taiwanese solar cell makers Neo Solar Power Energy Corp (新日光能源), Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶能源) and Solartech Energy Corp (昇陽光電) yesterday inked a letter of intent to merge via a share swap in an bid to compete with global rivals.
The resultant entity would be the world’s second-largest solar company in terms of installed capacity, the companies said.
The firms plan to sign a trilateral merger agreement in late December and aim to complete the transaction in the third quarter of next year, they said in a joint statement.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
“The nation’s solar power industry has been struggling for years. We believe the merger will create a competitive business model,” Neo Solar chairman Sam Hong (洪傳獻) told a news conference at the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
By melding each company’s capabilities, the new firm is to offer vertical integration services from solar cell and module manufacturing, to photovoltaic systems assembly, Hong said.
The new entity would also have a more competitive cost structure, given its larger scale, he said.
The new company would have a total installed capacity of 5 gigawatts (GW) of solar cells — about 10 percent of the global market based on the projected worldwide installed capacity of 500GW this year, Hong said.
The companies also plan to expand their combined annual production capacity of solar modules to more than 3GW two to three years after the merger, compared with their current 1GW, Hong said.
The firms also aim to sell 1GW of photovoltaic systems annually within five years, he said.
Based on the letter of intent, Gintech shareholders will be able to swap each of their shares for 1.39 common shares of Neo Solar, while Solartech shares can be swapped for 1.17 Neo Solar shares, the companies said.
After Gintech and Solartech are absorbed into Neo Solar, the company is to be renamed United Renewable Energy Co (UREC, 聯合再生能源), the statement said, adding that Hong is to be the chairman and Gintech president Pan Wen-whe (潘文輝) is to serve as chief executive officer.
The deal was granted the government’s verbal support ahead of the announcement, as it is in line with the administration’s policy of developing the nation’s renewable energy industry and increasing the contribution of “green” power to the nation’s energy grid to 20 percent by 2025, Hong said.
The firms are to soon apply for capital injections from the National Development Fund and government affiliate Yao Hua Glass Co (耀華玻璃), Hong said.
It is too early to say how much UREC will receive from the government and whether it would hold a seat on the company’s board, Hong said.
The National Development Council said it has not yet received the application, but added that it supports the consolidation of solar firms to increase production capacity and competitiveness.
In a separate announcement, Neo Solar yesterday said it is to acquire 46.1 million shares, or 24.11 percent, of General Energy Solutions Inc (永旺能源) for NT$20.7 per common share in the open market from today to Nov. 6.
The company is making the move in a bid to increase its ownership in General Energy from 75.89 percent to 100 percent.
“We believe we can provide better renewable energy solutions via Neo Solar’s manufacturing strength and General Energy’s power plant building and managing capabilities,” Neo Solar said in a news release.
MILITARY BOOST: The procurement was planned after Washington recommended that Taiwan increase its stock of air defense missiles, a defense official said yesterday Taiwan is planning to order an additional four PAC-3 MSE systems and up to 500 missiles in response to an increasing number of missile sites on China’s east coast, a defense official said yesterday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the proposed order would be placed using the defense procurement special budget, adding that about NT$1 trillion (US$32,88 billion) has been allocated for the budget. The proposed acquisition would include launchers, missiles, and a lower tier air and missile defense radar system, they said The procurement was planned after the US military recommended that Taiwan increase
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
TWO HEAVYWEIGHTS: Trump and Xi respect each other, are in a unique position to do something great, and they want to do that together, the US envoy to China said The administration of US President Donald Trump has told Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) “we don’t want any coercion, but we want [the Taiwan dispute] resolved peacefully,” US ambassador to China David Perdue said in a TV interview on Thursday. Trump “has said very clearly, we are not changing the ‘one China’ policy, we are going to adhere to the Taiwan Relations Act, the three communiques and the ‘six assurances’ that were done under [former US president Ronald] Reagan,” Perdue told Joe Kernen, cohost of CNBC’s Squawk Box. The act, the Three Joint Communiques and the “six assurances” are guidelines for Washington
DEEPENING TIES: The two are boosting cooperation in response to China’s coercive actions and have signed MOUs on search-and-rescue and anti-smuggling efforts Taiwan and Japan are moving to normalize joint coast guard training and considering the inclusion of other allies, the Japanese Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday. Both nations’ coast guards in June sent vessels to the seas south of the Sakishima Islands to conduct joint training, the report said, adding that it was the second joint maritime training exercise since the nations severed formal diplomatic ties in September 1972. Japan dispatched the Nagoya Coast Guard’s Mizuho, a 134m, 6,000-tonne patrol vessel which can carry a helicopter, while the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sent the 126m, 4,000-tonne Yunlin, one of its largest vessels, the report
RSS