MAJOR SOLAR CONSOLIDATION

Sharp to buy solar developer Recurrent Energy; Sharp to pay up to $305 million for solar company
Sarah McBride and Poornima Gupta (w/ Carol Bishopric), September 21, 2010 (Reuters)

"Sharp Corp…plans to buy solar power company Recurrent Energy for up to $305 million, expanding Sharp's footprint in the solar field.

"Privately-held Recurrent Energy, which is majority owned by Hudson Clean Energy Partners, focuses on small-scale projects of up to 20 megawatts. It has a pipeline of more than 2 gigawatts of projects planned in the United States, Canada and Europe."

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"Sharp is one of the world's biggest solar cell producers. It is counting on Recurrent to help it expand its business in the photovoltaic area…from developing and producing solar cells and modules to developing and marketing power generation plants…"

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"For Recurrent…[Sharp ensures continued growth with] credibility and access to capital markets…"

"Acquisitions activity in solar energy has lagged other fields such as technology. Issues such as declining prices for solar panels and uncertainty over the fate of government subsidies in alternative energy have dampened enthusiasm for the once red-hot industry…[This] acquisition is expected to close by the end of this year."