Tongwei says it has terminated its plan to acquire solar PV manufacturer Runergy
The company states some commercial terms not being agreed upon as the reason for the termination
The duo does plan to cooperate in the space of polysilicon business, but did not share any details
Touted by many as one of the largest solar PV merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in the history of the solar PV industry, Tongwei Co. Ltd. has abandoned its plan to acquire fellow Chinese solar PV manufacturer Runergy.
In August 2024, Tongwei made an offer to acquire a controlling stake of 51% in Runergy for RMB 5 billion to maintain its manufacturing footprint in the overseas markets (see Tongwei Makes Offer To Acquire Majority Stake In Fellow Chinese Company).
Runergy has 130,000 tons of polysilicon production capacity in China’s Ningxia and Inner Mongolia, and 63 GW of solar cell and 23 GW of module capacity globally. A lot of this capacity is located in the Southeast Asian markets of Thailand and Vietnam, including 7 GW ingot production in Vietnam, and 13 GW cell capacity in Thailand – markets that are impacted by high tariff rates from the US antidumping and countervailing duty determinations which Tongwei may not be keen on adding to its portfolio (see US Issues Solar Import Tariff Round 2 For Southeast Asian Nations).
However, Runergy was reported to be shutting down its manufacturing bases in China and abroad post the Tongwei announcement. In November last year, Tongwei followed up on its plans saying that its plan to acquire Runergy may be adjusted or terminated (see China Solar PV News Snippets: Hopewind At TaiyangNews Inverters & Battery Storage Conference & More).
In an announcement on February 15, 2025, Tongwei said since signing the Capital Increase Intention Agreement, it conducted an extensive in-depth audit and due diligence for the proposed transaction. “As of now, some commercial terms have not been agreed upon,” it stated as the reason to terminate the intended capital increase.
The business environment for the solar PV industry globally has been under a cloud of late as overcapacity in the supply chain has caused module prices to crash, impacting the financials of several manufacturers, Tongwei being no exception. For FY2024, it has forecast a net loss of RMB 70 billion to RMB 75 billion, compared to a 2023 profit of RMB 13.57 billion. It also blames long-term asset impairments and write-offs of RMB 10 billion as responsible for the projected loss (see China Solar PV News Snippets: JA Solar At TaiyangNews Webinar Tomorrow & More).
Tongwei’s decision to terminate the agreement also comes in the wake of Runergy’s US business Runergy Alabama embroiled in a TOPCon patent infringement lawsuit filed by Trinasolar. The latter demands the company, along with India’s Adani, be asked to stop the sale and marketing of its solar cells, modules, panels and components that it claims infringe on its patents. Runergy’s Alabama factory has the capacity to produce 3,000 modules/day (see US To Investigate Runergy & Adani For Solar Patent Infringement).
Both Tongwei and Runergy, however, plan to cooperate in the polysilicon business to promote the efficient use of industrial resources, according to the former’s announcement with no other details available.
Speaking at the TaiyangNews High Efficiency Solar Technologies 2024 Conference, Tongwei’s Regional Technical Service Director Jerry Jiang said the company’s polysilicon production capacity stood at 850,000 tons, apart from 20 GW of ingot and wafer each, 126 GW of cell and 85 GW of modules (see Tongwei Solar Present In All Leading Solar PV Technologies).