$88.8m! Hanwha to Acquire Polysilicon Manufacturing Facility from REC Silicon

PVTIME – Hanwha Corporation, the largest shareholder in Norway’s REC Silicon, has recently made a takeover bid. This comes at a time when REC Silicon has suffered a series of setbacks.

REC Silicon’s Moses Lake facility

In early January 2025, REC Silicon made the decision to cease operations at its polysilicon production facility in Moses Lake, Washington State, USA. Market concerns about the quality of its polysilicon products had a direct impact on its business. As a result, the supply agreement between REC Silicon and QCells, a Hanwha solar photovoltaic manufacturing subsidiary, was terminated. To assist with the plant closure, REC Silicon received a $40 million loan from Hanwha later that month.

Details of the tender offer show that Hanwha Corporation and Hanwha Solutions, both major shareholders in REC Silicon, will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of the company. They will do so through a newly formed company, Anchor AS, at a price of 2.2 Norwegian kroner per share (equivalent to approximately $0.21). With more than 420 million shares outstanding, REC Silicon is currently valued at approximately 925 million Norwegian kroner ($88.8 million).

REC Silicon’s Board of Directors has unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the offer and sell their shares. Kurt Levens, CEO of REC Silicon, believes that this acquisition is not only in the best interests of the company, but also in the best interests of all stakeholders, including shareholders.

Ki Won Yang, CEO of Hanwha Corporation, explained the rationale behind the acquisition. Given REC Silicon’s precarious financial situation and complex strategic challenges, Hanwha, as the controlling shareholder, felt compelled to act. The voluntary tender offer aims to acquire all of REC Silicon’s shares and delist the company from the stock exchange. Once delisted, Hanwha intends to inject sufficient funds and streamline the management structure. This is expected to provide much needed stability for REC Silicon’s future operations. This strategic move by Hanwha Corporation could potentially reshape the silicon manufacturing landscape and offers a glimmer of hope for REC Silicon’s recovery.