China’s TFG Radiant to invest in US photovoltaic cell maker Ascent Solar

Struggling US photovoltaic cell maker Ascent Solar Technologies yesterday agreed to sell a stake in the company and licence its technology to Chinese conglomerate TFG Radiant Group, in a deal valued at about $450 million plus royalties.

Under the deal, TFG has purchased 6,400,000 shares of Ascent stock or a 20-per cent stake at $1.15 per share or $7.36 million, a premium of 56 per cent to Ascent's closing price on 12 August.

TFG has the right to appoint one member to Ascent's board, and can appoint a second if TFG chooses to increase its stake by 15 per cent by acquiring an additional 9,500,000 shares at $1.55 per share or $14.7 million.

The company agreed to license its manufacturing technology to TFG, a joint venture of the Chinese construction and real estate company Radiant Group and Singapore-based investment company Tertius Financial Group.

Ascent has agreed to exclusively license its technology for the fabrication and distribution of flexible photovoltaic modules to TFG for the photovoltaic market in East Asia, which includes China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Korea, and Singapore. Ascent will retains all rights for the US and rest of the world.

Ascent will develop a next-generation PV production line in Colorado and based on Ascent's technology, TFG will build its first fabrication facility in China, with a projected direct investment of over $165 million.