Major renewable energy firm, SunEdison, has terminated its previously announced acquisition of Latin America Power (LAP), which was to include a 613MW portfolio of solar, wind and hydro projects in Chile.
A spokesman for SunEdison told PV Tech that in the course of finalising the deal, SunEdison determined that the seller did not satisfy the conditions precedent to closing in the Share Purchase Agreement. The agreement was then terminated.
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He added: “While SunEdison is disappointed by this outcome, we remain committed to pursuing attractive opportunities in Latin America and working with partners in the region.”
However, the spokesman declined to comment on whether SunEdison had failed to make a US$400 million upfront cash payment for the planned US$700 million acquisition.
LAP did not respond to a request to comment from PV Tech, however a lawyer for the company, Michael B. Carlinsky of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, told the Wall Street Journal that LAP rejects SunEdison’s claims as “baseless”.
He added: “We are confident that the record will show that SunEdison breached its contractual obligations.”
In May, SunEdison announced its plans to acquire seven renewable energy portfolios and corporate platforms in Brazil, China, India, Peru, Chile, South Africa and Uruguay. This included acquiring LAP with its renewable projects across Chile and Peru.
The termination of the deal adds to a list of troubles for SunEdison of late. Yesterday, PV Tech reported that the company said it would change its business strategy in light of current financial market conditions.
In a business update conference call with financial analysts, it trimmed its anticipated project completions by 20% and confirmed that it would exit the UK market. Management revised its 2016 MW completions guidance to 3,300MW to 3,700MW, which would require around US$5.8 billion in financing.
The company also announced it was laying off 15% of its staff earlier this week.