Hanwha SolarOne announced it has acquired 100% of the outstanding share capital of Hanwha Q CELLS Investment Co., Ltd (Q CELLS) from Hanwha Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (HSH) in an all-stock transaction.
The transaction was approved by shareholders at the extraordinary general meeting of Hanwha SolarOne held on February 4, 2015, and was consummated on February 6, 2015. Hanwha SolarOne has issued approximately 3.7 billion of its ordinary shares (the equivalent of approximately 740.2 million American Depositary Shares of Hanwha SolarOne) to HSH, as described in the shareholder circular furnished to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission dated December 24, 2014, as supplemented on January 23, 2015 (the Circular).
In addition, the Company has obtained the necessary corporate approvals to change its name to "Hanwha Q CELLS Co., Ltd." and its NASDAQ trading symbol to "HQCL". Both will become effective on NASDAQ February 9, 2015. The company's headquarters will now be located in Seoul, South Korea.
Mr. Seongwoo Nam, chairman and chief executive officer of Hanwha SolarOne commented, "We believe the merger of Hanwha SolarOne and Hanwha Q CELLS will create a number of synergies and provide us with a much strengthened presence and competitive position in the global PV market. We plan to carefully manage the integration of the two companies, which have been benefitting in recent years from Hanwha's strategic support and the larger Hanwha culture."