Hanwha Successfully Acquires Q-Cells, a German Solar Manufacturer, for US$48.4 Million

According to reports of Yonhap and Thomson Reuters, Hanwha Chemical Corp. of South Korea announced on the 27th that the company has agreed to spend 55 billion won (48.4 million US dollars) to purchase German solar cell manufacturers. Q-Cells will also sum up its commitment of 300 billion Korean won. Q-Cells filed for bankruptcy as early as this April (2012). The acquisition also needs to be approved by the board of directors of Hanhua Petrochemical and the approval of Q-Cells creditors.

According to the agreement between the two parties, Hanwha Chemical will receive Q-Cells' subsidiary in Malaysia and Germany's R&D and manufacturing plants. After the acquisition of Q-Cells, Hanwha Petrochemical will be able to manufacture 2.4 GW (billion megawatts) of solar cells each year, far higher than the current annual production of 1.3 GW.

Hanwha Chemical hopes to become the global leader in solar panel and battery industry. Hanwha Group previously invested RMB 430 billion (US$3.7363 billion) in August 2010 to acquire Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd., a vertically integrated solar energy company in mainland China, and renamed it. Hanwha SolarOne Co. , Ltd. .

Q-Cells was established in 1999 and went public in 2005. The company once became the world's largest solar cell manufacturer in 2007, but it lost this title in 2009, mainly due to low competition from Asian rivals, price pressures and solar cell oversupply.