Arcelormitall submits bid to acquire Exosun

Steel giant, Arcelormittal is planning to expand its activities in the solar energy business through the acquisition of French solar tracker manufacturer Exosun, which filed for insolvency with the Commercial Tribunal of Bordeaux, France, in July.

According to the Luxemburger Wort, Arcelormitall has submitted a bid to acquire the company to insolvency administrator, French law firm, Selarl Christophe Mandon. The press offices of both companies, as well as the insolvency administrator, have not responded to pv magazine’s request for comment.

Arcelormittal, which has developed a range of PV products based on steel over the past years, already announced in June it intended to increase production of its Magnelis coated steel at its manufacturing facility in Alavés, Asturias, northern Spain. Coated steel is also utilized for the coating of mounting structures for solar plants.

Earlier in February, Arcelormittal proposed to build a 600 MW solar power plant in India’s Karnataka. The solar project was intended to replace a former project for the development of a 750 MW steel plant that the company has abandoned, due to excess capacity of steel globally.

Founded in 2007, Exosun is headquartered in Martillac, near Bordeaux, and has offices in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, China and Spain. Its largest investors are Omnes Capital, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME), Aquitaine Expansion and Grand Sud-Ouest Capital.