SolarWorld: Short-term investor solution still possible?
The preliminary insolvency administrator of SolarWorld AG, attorney at law, Horst Piepenburg has been negotiating with an investor group regarding their acquisition of the production sites in Freiberg, Saxony and Arnstadt, Thuringia.
The negotiations have reached a stage in which key points of the acquisition of significant assets of the insolvent SolarWorld Group are being discussed. The investor group expressed its intention to take over real estate, machinery and inventory of SolarWorld's production sites at Freiberg, Saxony and Arnstadt, Thuringia, in Germany. According to the current state of the negotiations, 450 employees could be transferred to an acquiring company still to be established. At the same time, it is still being discussed whether the further 1,200 employees at these two locations will be offered a transfer into an employment and qualification company.
'As announced a week ago, we are trying our best to preserve the brand of SolarWorld and the expertise of its workforce as much as possible,' said Piepenburg. 'With this solution, we would exploit the possibilities offered by preliminary insolvency proceeding in order to serve the interests of creditors and at the same time preserve a significant number of jobs.'
The preliminary insolvency administrator adds that he considers the chances of a short-term agreement with the interested parties more probable than a failure: 'This is an opportunity for many that I cannot deny them. Therefore, we will postpone the decision that was expected for this week.'
According to the concept being discussed with the potential acquirer, employees of the holding company at the Bonn site, with the exception of a small workout team, have to be irrevocably released from work as of the expected opening of the insolvency proceedings on August 1, 2017. The financing of a transfer company or of short-time work for the holding employees could not be achieved.
Piepenburg would like to thank all those involved in the preliminary insolvency proceedings for their exceptional commitment, which has been a major contributing factor for the continuing existence of SolarWorld. 'Now, the important thing is to bring the general agreement into a final binding contract,' concluded Piepenburg.