Canadian Solar CEO seeks to take company private

GUELPH — Canadian Solar Inc. revealed Monday it has received a nonbinding takeover offer from its chair, Shawn (Xiaohua) Qu, who is also CEO and president of the Guelph-based company.

Qu is tentatively offering US$18.47 in cash for each share not already owned by him and his wife Hanbing Zhang, who have about 23.5 per cent of Canadian Solar’s stock.

The indicated price is 7.1 per cent above Friday’s closing price of US$17.25 on Nasdaq, when Canadian Solar was worth about US$1 billion.

Qu said in a Dec. 9 letter distributed on Monday that he intends to take Canadian Solar private, using a combination of debt from financial institutions, the equity owned by him and his wife, and potentially third-party equity sponsors.

“I believe that the transaction will provide superior value to the company’s shareholders as compared to remaining a publicly traded company,” Qu said.

Canadian Solar said its board has formed a committee of independent and disinterested directors to consider the proposed transaction, which would require definitive agreements to move forward.

Shares have been mostly below US$20 since March 2016, well off their most recent highs in early 2014.

Founded in 2001 and publicly traded on Nasdaq since 2006, Canadian Solar is one of the world’s largest solar power equipment manufacturers and solar utility developers.

It has plants in Guelph, China, Brazil and Southeast Asia and more than 10,000 employees worldwide.