NovaSolar files for bankruptcy

Thin-film manufacturer NovaSolar has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. That’s not unusual, a number of companies have gone bankrupt in the last months. NovaSolar, though, is the US arm of Chinese NovaStar, a company that was created with remaining assets from bankrupt OptiSolar three years ago.

While NovaStar moved manufacturing to China, research and development remained in Silicon Valley. NovaSolar’s management and business structure were not very different from that of OptiSolar, according to Bloomberg reports. In February it emerged that NovaSolar was having problems, the company suspended all but eight employees. According to court documents the company now owes unpaid salaries of UD$3.5 million. The company claims US$6 million in assets yet US$14 in liabilities.