26.07.2017 SolarWorld: Short-term investor solution still possible

• The preliminary insolvency administrator is negotiating key points for the acquisition of the sites Freiberg and Arnstadt
• Investor is to finance business operations until mid-August 2017
• Under the concept of the acquirer, 450 employees are to be further employed and about 1,200 employees are to be moved to a transfer company

The preliminary insolvency administrator of SolarWorld AG, attorney at law, Horst Piepenburg has been negotiating with an investor group regarding their acquisition of the production sites in Freiberg, Saxony and Arnstadt, Thuringia since the weekend.

The negotiations have reached a stage in which key points of the acquisition of significant assets of the insolvent SolarWorld Group are being discussed. The investor group expressed its intention to take over real estate, machinery and inventory of SolarWorld's production sites at Freiberg, Saxony and Arnstadt, Thuringia, in Germany. According to the current state of the negotiations, 450 employees could be transferred to an acquiring company still to be established. At the same time, it is still being discussed whether the further 1,200 employees at these two locations will be offered a transfer into an employment and qualification company.

'As announced a week ago, we are trying our best to preserve the brand of SolarWorld and the expertise of its workforce as much as possible,' said Piepenburg. 'With this solution, we would exploit the possibilities offered by preliminary insolvency proceeding in order to serve the interests of creditors and at the same time preserve a significant number of jobs.'

The preliminary insolvency administrator adds that he considers the chances of a short-term agreement with the interested parties more probable than a failure: 'This is an opportunity for many that I cannot deny them. Therefore, we will postpone the decision that was expected for this week.'

According to the concept being discussed with the potential acquirer, employees of the holding company at the Bonn site, with the exception of a small workout team, have to be irrevocably released from work as of the expected opening of the insolvency proceedings on August 1, 2017. The financing of a transfer company or of short-time work for the holding employees could not be achieved.
Piepenburg would like to thank all those involved in the preliminary insolvency proceedings for their exceptional commitment, which has been a major contributing factor for the continuing existence of SolarWorld. 'Now, the important thing is to bring the general agreement into a final binding contract,' concluded Piepenburg.

About SolarWorld
SolarWorld manufactures and sells high-tech solar power solutions and in doing so contributes to a cleaner energy supply worldwide. The group, headquartered in Bonn, Germany, operates facilities in Freiberg, Germany; Arnstadt, Germany; and Hillsboro, Oregon, USA as well as in a joint venture with Qatar Solar Technologies. From raw material silicon to solar wafers, cells and modules, SolarWorld manages all stages of production ‒ including research and development in its own company, SolarWorld Innovations.

Through an international distribution network with locations in Europe, USA, Singapore, Japan, South Africa and Qatar, SolarWorld supplies customers all over the world. SolarWorld was founded in 1998 and has been publicly traded on the stock market since 1999. More information at www.solarworld.com

About Piepenburg-Gerling law firm
The law firm was founded in 2001. As an insolvency or bankruptcy administrator, Attorney Piepenburg has supervised and supported around 2,000 mandates in the past 30 years. Furthermore, he was active as manager at Babcock Borsig, for example, as well as the postal services manager, PIN.

Between 1999 and 2013, Piepenburg was chairman of the Insolvency Law and Financial Restructuring Working Group at the German Lawyers' Association For many years, he has been member of the Gravenbruch Circle, the association of Germany's leading insolvency administrators and restructuring experts.

Contact:
thomas SCHULZ, tsc.komm
Phone: +49 (0) 171 86 86 482
Email: tsc@tsc-komm.de