The Deal: China's Hanergy Grabs More U.S. Solar Technology

Beijing company acquires its second American target this month.
By The Deal ,

NEW YORK (

The Deal

) -- Beijing renewable energy company

Hanergy Holding Group

continued to expand its presence in the U.S. solar panel sector, announcing Thursday, July 25, that it acquired

Global Solar Energy

.

Terms of the deal, already completed, were not disclosed. The transaction already received approval from U.S. and Chinese regulators.

Tucson, Ariz.-based Global Solar makes thin film copper-based solar technology products that are used on rooftop solar panels as well as electric cars.

"Flexible and thin-film and photovoltaic is the future and the trend of the industry," said Hanergy Chairman Li Hejun in a statement. "The cost effectiveness and wide application of this technology make it a great step forward for Hanergy's development in large scale solar energy generation and distribution."

The acquisition of Global Solar follows up Hanergy's purchase of two other solar technology companies. In October, the company acquired

MiaSole

for about $30 million and in June 2012 it purchased

Solibro

from

Q-Cells SE

for undisclosed terms.

Global Solar was founded in 1996 by

Unisource Energy

and

ITN Energy Systems

. In 2006, the target was acquired by German energy company

Solon AG

for about $16 million.

Small solar panel companies have been struggling to survive of late. Earlier this month,

Hoku Corp.

, along with its Hoku Materials Inc. and Hoku Solar Inc. subsidiaries, filed for Chapter 7 after failing to raise capital to finish building a polysilicon plant. Also this month, Hamburg-based solar panel maker

Conergy

filed for bankruptcy protection after being unable to reach a restructuring deal with its creditors.

Global Solar has been having difficulties of its own. In December, the company laid off about 95 employees, according to one industry report.

"Together we are well positioned to implement Hanergy's strategy of accelerating the growth of the flexible solar market and exploit new market potentials," said Global Solar CEO Jeff Britt in a statement.

Hanergy is the parent company of Hong Kong-traded Hanergy Solar Group, which has more than 8,000 employees.

Written by Demitri Diakantonis

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