Hudson to privatize Hong Kong's Sky Solar

Hudson, which currently holds a 24.3% stake in the company, will pay $25.5 million for shares held by IDG-Accel China Capital Investors, according to a filing. IDG-Accel held a 26.6% stake as of November 2014, according to a separate disclosure.

Sky Solar stock jumped 17% following initial confirmation of the deal to $1.59 on November 14 and closed on November 26 at $1.60, giving the company a market capitalization of about $33.6 million.

Earlier this month, Hudson agreed to dismiss a legal action taken against Sky Solar regarding a disputed note purchase agreement. Under the settlement, Hudson agreed to convert outstanding amounts of certain notes into equity interests in a number of Sky Solar projects.

Sky Solar further agreed to Hudson purchasing additional equity interests in some comapnies related to the projects in question. According to a release, these transactions would result in a net payment of about $18 million to Sky Solar.

The episode extended a period of legal difficulties for Sky Solar in recent years. In 2017, an independent committee found that a former CEO had transferred funds from the company to personally controlled accounts without authorization. In January this year, the company replaced its CFO without explanation.

Hudson, which makes private equity investments through its Hudson Clean Energy division and venture investments as Hudson Sustainable Technologies, first invested in Sky Solar in 2015 with a $100 million commitment from its infrastructure arm. The following year, it helped the company develop portfolios of utility-scale solar projects in the US and Latin America.

Sky Solar now claims to own and operate more than 135 megawatts of solar parks in Japan, Greece, Canada, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Spain. Its development pipeline includes more than 500MW of projects in Japan, Chile, Canada, Uruguay, and the US. It also maintains bases in the US and China.

Income is generated from selling electricity to power grids, as well as selling permits and providing operational services. Revenue increased 14% during 2018 to $64.7 million, with Sky Solar citing an increase in electricity prices. During the same period, the company's loss narrowed from $33 million to $22.1 million.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Cleantech
• Infrastructure
• Buyouts
• Hong Kong (China)
• Hudson Clean Energy Partners
• energy