News

ECD Ovonics Completes Option Exercise for 4,376,633 Shares

May 16, 2005 by Jeff Shepard

Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (ECD, Rochester Hills, MI) announced that it has completed the exercise of its option to purchase 4,376,633 shares of its common stock previously owned by a subsidiary of Chevron Corp. The shares acquired through the option exercise are being cancelled and returned to authorized and unissued status.

The shares were purchased for $4.55 per share, or a total purchase price of $19,913,680. ECD Ovonics funded the option exercise transaction out of currently available cash, including the $109 million from the recent sale of its common stock and the exercise of warrants by certain warrantholders.

ECD Ovonics received the option through its subsidiary Ovonic Battery Company Inc. in December 2004 in consideration of the expansion of the scope of licenses to Cobasys LLC, the 50-50 Ovonic nickel-metal hydride battery manufacturing joint venture between Ovonic Battery and ChevronTexaco Technology Ventures LLC, a subsidiary of Chevron.

As a consequence of the cancellation of the 4,376,633 shares acquired through the option exercise, the number of shares of ECD Ovonics common stock presently issued and outstanding has been reduced by 13.4% to 28,211,520.