À̹ÌÁö È®´ë Hanwha Chemical Corp., the chemical business unit of South Korea¡¯s Hanwha Group, announced on Tuesday that its board of directors approved the plan to merge its solar units Hanwha Solar Holdings Co. and Hanwha Q Cells Corp., a move also necessary to delist Hanwha Q Cells from the Nasdaq.
Hanwha Solar Holdings, a fully-owned subsidiary of Hanwha Chemical and holding a 94 percent stake in Hanwha Q Cells, will acquire all of the outstanding shares in the Nasdaq-listed solar modules maker in a 1:0 ratio to absorb the company. Hanwha Q Cell will be Hanwha Solar Holdings¡¯ fully owned subsidiary after the completion of the merger. The company said the merger would be completed in two to three months after it submits its merger and delisting plan to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) within a week after the board¡¯s approval.
Hanwha Chemical said in August that it decided to merge the two units to remove the shares from Nasdaq due to waning merits from the trade on the U.S. market and promote management efficiency of its solar business. Hanwha Q Cells lost appeal to U.S. investors after Donald Trump Administration slapped universal tariffs on solar module imports.
Market experts predicted a limited impact of the merger on Hanwha Q Cells because only about 5 million shares or 6 percent of the solar unit¡¯s total outstanding shares trade on the Nasdaq and average daily transaction value hovers around 0.01 percent of market capitalization.
On Tuesday, shares of Hanwha Chemical rose 0.3 percent to end at 16,550 won ($14.67) in Seoul trading. Hanwha Q Cells shares gained 1.97 percent to $8.29 in New York as of 1:02 p.m. Hanwha Solar Holdings is not listed.
By Moon Ji-woong and Choi Mira
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]