Ersol Solar Energy AG (Erfurt, Germany), a manufacturer of solar power cells, and its owners plan to raise as much as €153 million (US$184 million) in a share sale to begin in two days, taking advantage of growth in the solar industry. Ersol and its owners aim to sell as many as 3.2 million shares for between €36 and €42 apiece, plus an additional 439,000 shares in case of strong demand. Investors can subscribe between September 26 and September 29, 2005, and shares will begin trading the following day.
"It's our goal to benefit more than proportionally from the solar industry's strong growth," stated Chief Executive Officer Claus Beneking. "Ersol has all the prerequisites for positive development, including a secure silicon supply for the next 10 years and high product quality."
Almost three million shares will be new, while existing shareholders will sell as many as 700,000 shares. The proceeds from the share sale will be used to boost output and to secure silicon supply, which is extracted from sand and needed for solar power cell production. Ersol has secured supply as well as prices until 2015. The company plans to double its production capacity to 110 MW in 2007. The company has also agreed to buy ASi Industries AG this year to expand into the production of wafers and silicon ingot, which are used to make solar cells.
