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.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS