In a statement released, Q.Cells said that the two parties had signed an agreement at Hanergy's headquarters in Beijing, China, today.
It added that Hanergy intends to ramp up production of Solibros thin film copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) technology to 100 megawatts (MW) annually, following the acquisition. With manufacturing facilities based in Germanys Thalheim, the product is expected to serve Hanergys European customers.
"This acquisition is not solely about consolidating our position on a global and competitive market. It is also about creating synergies between our two organizations in order to provide our respective customers with added value," commented Li Hejun, chairman of Hanergy.
Q.Cells said it considered "several potential" partners before agreeing to hand the reigns over to Hanergy. "Solibros technology and manufacturing capacity, combined with Hanergys photovoltaic (PV) strategy, resulted in a fast and successful conclusion of the transaction," it said in the statement.
Hanergy will also reportedly not let any staff go or introduce new leadership. "Solibros operations will remain unaffected, as will its after-sales service provided to customers," continued the statement.
"Since the first meeting with the Hanergy management, an ideal strategic fit was obvious to us all," continued Nedim Cen, CEO of Q.Cells. "With Hanergy as a partner, the potential of Solibros CIGS thin-film technology and existing production capacity can be fully realized. We are even more pleased that Hanergy intends to retain our current workforce in Thalheim."
Solibro's output and costs
In its recent "Thin Film 2012-2016" study, GTM Research reported that while operating under Q.Cells, Solibro had temporarily halted production at its 35 MW fab, while its 90 MW fab remained in production. In 2011, Solibro produced 66 MW of its CIGS modules.
The company is also reported to have achieved costs of under 1/Wp (US$1.24) back in 2010 and GTM research predicted that costs of under US$1/Wp could be achieved, under full utilization, in 2013.
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GTM report author MJ Shiao predicted in the report that Solibro would be sold to an "interested buyer" as Q-Cells sought to restructure its debt.
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