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Photovoltaics company, Q-Cells, has been transferred to its new owner, Hanwha Chemical Corporation, saving 80 per cent of the jobs at the troubled firm.
Hanwha Chemical Corporation is part of the Hanwha Group, one of the largest South Korean corporations with 2011 sales of USD$31.6 billion.
In a statement issued yesterday, Q-Cells said the takeover, overseen by insolvency administrator Henning Schorisch, provided the company with a strong partner “exhibiting a long-term orientation".
Q-Cells said, as a result of the takeover, it would also gain access to new technologies and, consequently, new markets.
Earlier this year PV-Tech reported how Q-Cells creditors approved the sale of the business operations in August. The purchase price is believed to have comprised of the takeover of operational liabilities falling in the lower triple-digit millions with a cash component in the mid double-digit millions.
As part of the takeover Hanwha will assume responsibility of 1,300 employees and most parts of the total Q-Cells Group. Q-Cells Bitterfeld-Wolfen administration site in Berlin, a production site in Malaysia and some international sales companies are included in the transaction.
After creditors approved the agreement, both contracting parties prepared the transfer of the company and implemented the contractual terms and conditions for the handover. The relevant anti-trust authorities have also given their approval.
Q-Cells had filed for insolvency on 3 April 2012. However, insolvency administrator Henning Schorisch managed to rapidly reactivate business operations.
Driven by sales and organisational measures, sales revenues even improved again and production went back to multiple shifts. As a consequence, job cuts were avoided throughout the entire insolvency process. Approximately 1,300 out of a total of 1,500 employees will be keeping their jobs.
Commenting on the takeover, Henning Schorisch said: “This is particularly positive news as the solar industry in Germany, but also globally, is currently going through a heavy crisis and many companies are facing failure."
