News Article
Conergy Flies Under A New Flag
Conergy's global sales and service units are sailing under a new flag with immediate effect.
Contract documents for the sale were signed on 2 October, directly after the opening of the insolvency proceedings and the approval of the preliminary creditor committee. The two German sales and service units, Conergy Deutschland GmbH and Conergy Services GmbH, as well as the subsidiaries in Great Britain, Italy and Australia form part of the Kawa Solar Holdings.
At the end of August 2013, the sales entities in the U.S.A., Canada, Singapore and Thailand had been transferred to the new company. Together with the administrative, management and infrastructure functions of Conergy AG supporting the international subsidiaries, Kawa secures a total of 350 jobs, 210 thereof in the international units and 140 in Germany.
"With the closing of the transaction, a new era starts for Conergy and its partners", said Kawa Partner Andrew de Pass. "Conergy is very well positioned for the challenges of the future solar market with Kawa as the new owner: the company is financially powerful and has a new, strong balance sheet. Conergy will be among the most "˜bankable' downstream solar players. Through Conergy's excellent sales network, the company has a very strong footprint in all important global markets and is a more reliable and stronger partner for our customers than ever. The more so since Conergy and Kawa will be working on new funding and financing solutions as well as grid parity business models from which our customers will benefit globally. We are convinced to have a successful setup."
Conergy Management appointed: Conergy and Kawa merge complementary expertise
At the closing of the transaction, Kawa appointed the new Conergy holding company Management Board. Alexander Gorski remains COO and will take over the position of the CEO Europe. Marc Lohoff will continue to be responsible for the Asian and Australian growth markets region as CEO Asia & Pacific. Anthony Fotopoulos moves up to the Management Board and strengthens the leadership team from own ranks. The former President of Conergy Americas was appointed CEO Americas. Lando Kravetz joins from the Kawa team and will take over the post of the Global Head of Business Development & Strategy within the Management Board.
Dr. Philip Comberg joins new Board
Dr. Philip Comberg will change from the Conergy Management Board and his position as CEO of Conergy AG to the Board of Directors of Kawa Solar Holdings as of 1 January 2014. The Board of Directors includes Andrew de Pass (Partner Kawa Capital) and Daniel Ades (Managing Partner Kawa Capital). Alongside with Dr. Philip Comberg, David Nazarian (CEO Nimes Capital) and Albrecht Curt Reuter (Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Camargo Correa S.A.) join the board.
"We are very pleased that we managed to establish a very strong Management Board and Board of Directors. We ensure continuity and optimally merge profound knowledge in the photovoltaic industry with strong capabilities in the funding and asset management. Kawa and Conergy perfectly match their complementary expertise in both committees", said Andrew de Pass. "I particularly would like to thank Dr. Philip Comberg for his excellent achievements as CEO of Conergy. He navigated Conergy through very difficult times. Moreover, he was the driver of the transaction that we successfully closed now, whereby Conergy is one of the few German solar companies to emerge from insolvency in such a strong position. I am very happy to closely work with Philip in the future on the Board of Directors. Kawa is very thankful for Dr. Comberg's contribution"
"Today was the start of a "˜new' Conergy", said Dr. Philip Comberg. "I am very proud that together with Kawa and my colleagues in the Management Board we have created the base for a successful future of the company. Now, I am looking forward to my new tasks in the Board of Directors where I will continue to support and accompany this path we have chosen."
Strategic focus: European rooftops, large-scale power plants in growth markets
Conergy continues to focus on reliable complete solutions for its international customers. These contain all necessary system components but also all related solar services. "In the European markets, we continue to concentrate mainly on rooftop installations for both private and commercial buildings. We keep cooperating with our close-knit network of distributors, installers and utilities who are profiting from our proven track record in the planning and implementation of solar power plants with optimized self-consumption and return-on-invest", said Conergy COO and CEO Europe Alexander Gorski.
Conergy continues to pursue current activities adding new fields of business
"In the emerging markets we focus on the project development, design and engineering of turnkey large-scale solar power plants as well as on the services of maintenance and plant management", said Marc Lohoff, Conergy CEO Asia & Pacific. "With the support of Kawa, we will also provide capital solutions to our clients for the development, construction and ownership of solar assets. In addition to these new activities, Conergy will continue to pursue its present business. The company will collaborate with existing partners and keep realizing solar power plants for other financial investors or other customers."
Conergy on course
In Asia and the U.S.A. Conergy has achieved first successes: In the U.S.A., the PV solution and service provider further expanded its cooperation with utilities and realized another example of a grid parity installation for the Western University of Health Sciences in California. In Asia Conergy follows its successful track with a 22 MW plant in the Philippines. In Thailand, the company captured a market share of 20% and thereby the market leadership by closing the third major order of 21 megawatts with Siam Solar Energy 1.
