SolarWorld Americas Inc. has found a savior in one of its fiercest critics.
The Hillsboro panel maker is being acquired by SunPower Corp. — a foe in SolarWorld’s controversial fight for new trade protections over the past year — the companies announced Wednesday.
"We are thrilled about this acquisition as it means quite simply, that our company can look forward to redoubled strength as it continues to innovate and expand into the future,” Jürgen Stein, CEO of SolarWorld Americas, said in a news release put out by SunPower.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The companies said it would need regulatory approval in the U.S. and Germany, where SolarWorld's bankrupt parent company is headquartered, with closing “expected over the next several months.”
Although headquartered in San Jose, Calif., SunPower panels are manufactured in Asia and Mexico.
SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWR) said the Hillsboro plant would be used to make panels based on its own technology as well as SolarWorld’s. For at least some of SunPower's production, it will give the company a route around tariffs that SolarWorld helped bring about earlier this year.
“SunPower plans to ramp SolarWorld Americas operations to capitalize on strong U.S. market demand,” SunPower said. “The company will invest in factory improvements and increased working capital, while retrofitting a portion of the facility to produce P-Series solar panels, in addition to continuing to produce and ship SolarWorld Americas' legacy products.”
SolarWorld's fate was thrown into doubt last spring after its German parent SolarWorld AG, struggling to remain competitive against cheaper solar panels manufactured mostly in Asia, declared bankruptcy.
The Hillsboro operation quickly downsized from 800 employees to around 300, then sought rescue in a trade case that opponents said would raise prices, stifle demand and end up costing the wider industry jobs.
The Solar Energy Industries Association, chaired by Tom Starrs, SunPower's vice president for market strategy and policy, led the fight against tariffs, joined in its filings by SunPower. Together they said mismanagement was to blame for SolarWorld's problems, citing "missed opportunities; problems with quality, delivery, and service; and other missteps and weaknesses."
But in January, the Trump administration backed SolarWorld, approving tariffs on solar cells and modules imported into the U.S. from around the world. They weren't quite what SolarWorld had sought, but were enough to deliver hope of enhancing the value of the Hillsboro plant.
Stein had told the Business Journal last October that with trade protection — or, as SolarWorld prefers to see it, a level playing field — the Hillsboro plant could double production and employ well over 1,000 people.
In announcing the deal Wednesday, SunPower CEO and Chairman Tom Werner praised SolarWorld Americas, calling it "one of the most respected manufacturers of high-quality solar panels for more than 40 years."
He went onto say: "The time is right for SunPower to invest in U.S. manufacturing, and SolarWorld Americas provides a great platform for us to implement our advanced P-Series solar panel manufacturing technology right here in our home market."
Sen. Ron Wyden, a supporter of SolarWorld in the trade fight, tweeted that a brief conversation with a SolarWorld official had left him "cautiously hopeful this sale will be good news for Hillsboro and all of Washington County."
The Portland Business Journal is a KGW News partner.
