Canadian Solar, GCL JV Looks Like Consolidation Template 阿斯特阳光电力与保利协鑫的合资公司似是未来整合样板

By newsdoug on June 1, 2011

There’s interesting news coming from the struggling solar sector, where Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) has announced a tie-up with GCL Poly-Energy (HKEx: 3800), in what could become a future template for much needed industry consolidation. The deal, which the companies are billing as a major joint venture, will see the pair invest an initially modest $77 million to build a plant to supply polysilicon to Canadian Solar ... Canadian Solar, in a relatively uneven arrangement that will see GCL provide 90 percent of the registered capital. (company announcement) But what’s more interesting here is that this tie-up could serve as an eventual vehicle for a de facto merger between these companies, which could gradually inject their other assets into the venture if the partnership works out. Up until now, most such tie-ups have been supply agreements without any equity participation. GCL would clearly be the dominant partner in this arrangement, with a market cap of around $8 billion compared to Canadian Solar’s much smaller $400 million. But this kind of tie-up, if successful, could lead to more similar partnerships that would provide some much-needed consolidation for an industry that is now in the midst of a downturn and faces a potential looming cash crunch. (previous post) Such tie-ups could lead to the eventual creation of two or three true industry giants with stronger resources and economies of scale, allowing them to not only survive but even thrive with or without government subsidies.

Bottom line: Canadian Solar’s new JV with GCL could provide a template for much-needed industry consolidation, leading to the creation of 2 or 3 truly global players.

挣扎不已的太阳能行业近日传出一条颇有意思的新闻。阿斯特阳光电力<CSIQ.O>与保利协鑫<3800.HK>宣布建立一家合资公司，此举可能成为未来行业整合的样板。根据协议，两公司首期将投资大约7,700万美元建设工厂，以向阿斯特供应多晶硅，其中保利协鑫提供90%的注册资本。这里比较有意思的是，该合资企业可能成为两家企业合并的工具，如合作成功，两公司将逐步把其他资产注入该合资企业。迄今为止，多数此类联姻还局限於供应协议，没有股权参与。保利协鑫将成该协议的主导夥伴方。但此类联姻如果成功，将会引领更多类似合作，从而为低迷的太阳能行业带来一些迫切需要的行业整合，而且还可创造两三个真正的行业巨头，拥有更强的资源与规模效应，让他们不仅生存下来，而且，不管有没有政府补贴，还能繁荣发展。

一句话：阿斯特与保利协鑫新的合资企业可为太阳能领域迫切需要的行业整合提供样板，为业界创造出两三个真正的巨头。