China's privately-owned Hanergy Holding Group Ltd, can now be touted as the world's largest clean energy company after its acquisition of U.S. based thin-film manufacturer MiaSolé for $30 million.
The transaction received regulatory approvals from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and Chinese authorities.
Hanergy also acquired German thin-film manufacturer Solibro last year.
"Our acquisition of MiaSole is another landmark deal and key milestone to facilitate the global clean-energy technology integration after we acquired German thin-film technology provider Solibro. Hanergy is determined to be a global renewable-energy leader," Li Hejun, chairman of Hanergy Holding Group, said in a press statement. "In the solar-energy sector, Hanergy is committed to developing thin-film PV technology, providing turn-key solutions, and developing solar plants. The future of solar energy is thin-film technology. I believe this successful China-US clean-energy cooperation will deliver fruitful results through our mutual efforts."
The acquisition will certainly boost the operations of MiaSole, which manufacturers copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin-film photovoltaic solar panels.
Apart from preserving MiaSole's employees at Sunnyvale, Hanergy hopes to hire additional employees.
" I greatly appreciate and identify with Hanergy's unique business model, its focus on and belief in thin-film solar technology, and its vision of providing clean-energy solutions to the world," John Carrington, CEO of MiaSole, said. "This acquisition of MiaSole is a win-win outcome for both companies. Hanergy will secure our CIGS technology, which boasts the world's highest conversion efficiency. MiaSole will enjoy a fully optimized capital structure, enabling us to focus on R&D and capacity breakthroughs, and become more competitive by riding on Hanergy's global advantages."
Last year, Miasole experienced certain technical difficulties and it achieved only 15.5 percent efficiency and demonstrated a cost per watt of 50 cents, which is way below market performance.
And GTM Research, an energy research organisation, estimates that CIGS solar production last year for Miasole was just 60 megawatts, while Solar Frontier's 577 megawatts topped the list.
As a result, the company started looking for a partner to finance its future process in August.
Hanergy hopes that the expansion of MiaSole's R&D will help increase the latter company's value to $2 billion. Earlier MiaSole's value was calculated at $1.2 billion.
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