By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent
What Happened:Remember Suniva? The company whose bankruptcy last April set off the swirling cesspool that became the solar tariffs this January? Well, there have been some interesting developments with its bankruptcy lately, to wit:
- The company’s biggest creditor, SQN Financial, has asked the judge to extend its exclusive right to Suniva’s assets, and
- the reasons they give could be an indication that the creditor is close to negotiating a final dissolution of the company.
- It should be noted that SQN tried to dump Suniva one month into their bankruptcy to make the tariff case go away, requesting a $55 million payment from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to make Suniva disappear. Think of all the headaches that could have been saved if only SQN had thrown a 6th Round draft pick into the deal.
SolarWakeup’s View: Will no one rid me of this troublesome solar company? Well, hold on, folks, because there could be a deal in the works to rid the solar industry of Suniva for good.
In the last year, I’ve become far too adept at reading solar companies’ bankruptcy filings, but when someone suggested I look at Suniva’s filings again, I thought, “Do I have to?” It’s not an overstatement to say I’m so sick of talking about Suniva I can’t even with this.
But I pulled myself together and dived back into the muck of Suniva’s bankruptcy and found a few interesting notes I think may mean our long national nightmare could soon be over.
A flurry of filings by the bankrupt module manufacturer’s biggest creditor (and all around bad actor in this tariff drama) indicate they are trying to procure a clean title for all of the former company’s assets because they have had, according to the filings, multiple companies inquire about purchasing them. SQN, however, doesn’t currently have a clean title to the assets, which makes negotiating a final purchase…difficult to say the least.
I checked again this morning and there doesn’t seem to have been activity since last week. But I think the filings bear watching – Suniva might be no more very soon.
(It should, of course, be noted that if Suniva is sold as it appears increasingly likely it will, it means almost the entirety of the whole stupid, idiotic tariff decision was for naught. After all, wasn’t the whole craven thing an attempt to save THIS company’s skin? You know what? I was right…..I can’t even with this.)
More:
The Section 201 Trade Case: Suniva’s Tangled Web (Renewable Energy World)
The Section 201 Trade Case, Part II: In the Hands of DIPs (Renewable Energy World)
The Section 201 Trade Case, Part III: Will Any Americans Benefit? (Renewable Energy World)
As They Sowed, So Shall We Reap (SolarWakeup)
Bonus:
Have some Peter O’Toole, will you?