Buyer found for Q-Cells

A purchase and transfer agreement in respect of virtually all of the business operations of Q-Cells SE was entered into – subject to the approval of the creditors’ meeting – with a business belonging to the Korean Hanwha Group. The agreement provides for the preservation of the Thalheim research and production site, including the preservation of approximately 3/4 of the workforce there, and the complete transfer of the subsidiary in Malaysia. Along with the assumption of business liabilities in the low hundreds of millions, the agreement also provides for a cash purchase price in the medium double-digit million Euro range. In contrast, the assumption of obligations under the convertible bonds issued or guaranteed by Q-Cells is not provided for in the agreement. At the creditors’ meeting held on 18 July 2012, the creditors had already approved the sale of the business operations of Q-Cells in the context of an M&A process as a possible restructuring alternative. The agreement that has now been made will be submitted for approval by the creditors at the next creditors’ meeting on 29 August 2012.