Hanergy Thin Film may be taken private at US$27b valuation

HONG KONG: Hanergy Thin Film Power Group , whose shares have been halted from trading for more than three years after a price collapse, is being taken private by its parent at a valuation of at least US$27 billion (RM112.4 billion) and then relisted in mainland China.

Clean energy firm Hanergy Mobile Energy, which owns a majority of Hong Kong-listed Hanergy Thin Film, said it planned to take it private for not less than HK$5 (RM2.65) per share via a cash acquisition or share replacement and then relist it on China’s Ashare market.

At that price, Hanergy Thin Film would be valued at HK$210.73 billion, higher than the HK$164.8 billion the solar panel equipment company was worth when it stopped trading on May 20 2015 at HK$3.91.

Hanergy Thin Film, under a high-profile investigation by the Securities and Futures Commission, is yet to get approval to resume trading, here.

“As Hanergy Thin Film Power Group has been suspended from trading for over three years, in order to protect the interest of small and medium investors... we decided to issue a buyout offer to all the investors of the listed company,” said Hanergy Mobile Energy in a statement posted on its website yesterday.

The parent company said in a separate statement to the media the relisting plan showed its confidence in China’s A-share market after China recently said it would support offshore companies listing onshore.

Hanergy Thin Film’s stock collapsed spectacularly in May 2015, when, after a five-fold increase over the previous 12 months, it plunged 47 per cent in 24 minutes.

The crash wiped out US$19 billion in market value before the company asked for the trading to be suspended.

Hanergy Mobile Energy sent the take-private proposal to the Hong Kong unit on October 12 and held a board meeting to approve the proposal on October 18, according to yesterday’s statements.