Hanwha Q-Cells completes internal going-private reorganization

From pv magazine Germany.

Hanwha Q-Cells Co., Ltd. has successfully completed its privatization. As announced in mid-October, Hanwha Q-Cells has merged with Hanwha Solar Holdings Co., and will now operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Hanwha Chemicals. The earliest possible delisting from New York’s Nasdaq exchange has been requested from the U.S.’ Securities and Exchange Commission.

Under the terms of the merger, common shares were bought for $0.198 each, with no interest, and American Depositary Shares – bundles of stock –were sold for $9.90. The common shares previously owned by Hanwha Solar were excluded from the transaction and cancelled without consideration, said the South Korean PV company this week.

At the closing of the merger, the equity value of Hanwha Q-Cells was estimated at approximately $825 million. The payments to shareholders agreed in the merger plan meant a premium of 50 per cent on the closing price of the Hanwha Q-Cells shares on August 2 last year. Hanwha Solar announced its intention to finance the merger through equity. The company already owned 93.9% of Hanwha Q-Cells.

A delisting from the US exchange means Hanwha Q-Cells would no longer have to meet strict reporting requirements for quarterly figures and annual financial statements. The solar company recently reported numbers for the third quarter of 2018 which saw sales increase to $559.3 million. That was not enough, however, to prevent the company posting a quarterly loss of $164.6 million.