bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

The mainland's Shunfeng Photovoltaic International has signed a preliminary deal to buy the main Chinese unit of Suntech Power, two sources said yesterday.
The framework agreement with Wuxi Suntech's administrator brings the closely watched restructuring of the firm's US$1.75 billion debt closer to completion after Suntech Power defaulted on a US$541 million convertible bond in March.
Crushed by a global glut of solar panels following the global debt crisis, Wuxi Suntech filed for bankruptcy protection five days after its parent company's default - one of the biggest by a Chinese company.
Creditors of Wuxi Suntech will vote on the restructuring proposal at a meeting next month, the sources said.
"A framework agreement has been signed. But it remains uncertain whether it will be approved by creditors who will meet around mid-November for this," one source said.
Shares of Shunfeng were suspended from trading yesterday pending an announcement related to a proposed acquisition, Shunfeng said in a filing with the Hong Kong exchange.
Under the framework deal signed in Wuxi on Thursday, Shunfeng was expected to pump about 3 billion yuan (HK$3.8 billion) into Wuxi Suntech as initial investment, and a further 2 billion to 3 billion yuan to sustain its operation, one of the sources said.
The other source declined to comment on the financial terms of the restructuring, but said the floor price set by the debt administrator for the auction of Wuxi Suntech was 2.5 billion yuan.
Analysts say creditors for Suntech's domestic debt are likely to recover only a fraction of their capital. What happens to them will have wide implications for investors who have flocked to Chinese US dollar-denominated debt in search of yield.
At the end of March last year, New York-listed Suntech Power had total debt of US$2.2 billion, including the convertible bond, loans from China Development Bank, and a US$50 million convertible loan from International Finance Corp, the private sector arm of the World Bank. The company has yet to publish its annual report for last year and disclose its overall debt situation.
The mainland's recent moves to prop up the ailing domestic solar industry has prevented a further deterioration in the sector and even sparked fresh interest from firms like Shunfeng. Beijing aims to more than quadruple solar power generating capacity to 35 gigawatts by 2015.


Shunfeng to buy solar rival Suntech's unit

Shunfeng to buy solar rival Suntech's unit.

Business

Commodities

Deal with Wuxi Suntech's administrator will advance troubled company's restructuring


The mainland's Shunfeng Photovoltaic International has signed a preliminary deal to buy the main Chinese unit of Suntech Power, two sources said yesterday.


Shunfeng to buy solar rival Suntech's unit

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Deal with Wuxi Suntech's administrator will advance troubled company's restructuring

Deal with Wuxi Suntech's administrator will advance troubled company's restructuring