Embattled solar manufacturer Maxeon has applied for ‘judicial management’ in Singapore as it aims to “restructure and rehabilitate its business” following a challenging year for the company.
The judicial management process, which was expanded in 2017 to allow foreign companies to apply for the process in Singapore, would see a judicial manager appointed by a Singapore court to assume control of the company from its directors and executives. This manager would then assess whether Maxeon can be preserved in its current form or would need to be restructured in some manner in order to continue operating and reach a compromise agreement with its creditors, the company said.
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If the manager deems neither option viable, they would be responsible for selling Maxeon’s assets “in a manner more advantageous than liquidation” in order to pay off its debts. The manager is typically appointed for 180 days, after which the judicial management process ends; however, the manager can apply to either the court or the company’s creditors to extend this period.
Many of Maxeon’s financial troubles stem from its attempt to import solar modules to the US in July 2024, which were detained by US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) over concerns that the production of the modules did not meet standards set out in the 2021 Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).
Maxeon has consistently opposed the detention, but CBP dismissed the company’s protests in April 2025; Maxeon’s inability to sell its modules in the US, and the resulting uncertainty that has crept into its global supply chain, led directly to a 90% decline in module shipments.
CBP’s detention has also created new challenges for the company. In its application for the judicial management process, Maxeon notes that the detention of modules has meant it has been unable to “fulfil certain contractual commitments”, which could include the completion of module supply deals.
As a result, Maxeon said its customers have taken legal action against the company, alleging breach of contract and seeking damages of more than US$70 million, a significant sum under any circumstances, but one that is particularly challenging for Maxeon at present considering its revenues have halved since the CBP’s detention of its modules.
Terminating agreements and signing deals
Maxeon has also announced the termination of a number of existing agreements as it prepares for the judicial management application. It has ended a services agreement with a subsidiary of TCL Zhonghuan Renewable Energy Technology, signed in February 2025 then amended in September 2025, which pertained to Maxeon’s sale of its equity interest in SunPower Philippines Manufacturing.
The company has also agreed to a mutual termination of a procurement agreement with Lumetech pertaining to Maxeon’s “target assets” in the Philippines as “the research and development activities related to the target assets have effectively ceased”.
However, Maxeon has made some agreements to strengthen its position. Maxeon and TZE, the parent company of TCL Zhonghuan, both owe one another money—TZE owes money for its secondment of Maxeon personnel, while Maxeon owes money for research and development expenses, rental of facilities, purchase of solar modules and secondment fees—and have agreed to settle these debts. TZE will pay Maxeon US$164,449, which is the outstanding net balance owed between these two deals.
Maxeon has also completed an assignment agreement pertaining to a licensing agreement signed with Chinese solar mafuacuter Aiko Solar earlier this year after a number of legal disputes between the companies.
Under the February deal, Aiko Solar bought licences for a number of cell technology patents from Maxeon, and was required to make a payment of US$14 million to Maxeon on 30 April this year. As part of this deal, Aiko Solar appointed the Maoxing Holdings Corporation as its ‘licensing agent’, and Maxeon has now signed a deal with Maoxing to sell the rights to the 30 April payment in exchange for three payments of US$7.9 million, which must be paid before 30 April. While this means Maxeon will ultimately receive less money for its sale of the licences, it will receive money faster, which could help its currently tenuous financial position.
