Kyocera To Acquire Golden Genesis

Kyocera Corp. (San Diego) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Kyocera International Inc. has reached an agreement with Golden Genesis (Golden, CO) and its majority stockholder, ACX Technologies Inc. (Golden, CO) to acquire 100 percent of the common shares of Golden Genesis at $2.33 per share, for a total value of $39.6 million.The acquisition, which is expected to be consummated by July, 1999, will be effected through the merger of a newly formed subsidiary of Kyocera International into Golden Genesis, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. The present management and staff of Golden Genesis will be retained, and Kyocera's own solar distribution business in the Americas will be absorbed by Golden Genesis.Golden Genesis is a leading solar energy systems integrator and distributor in the Americas with a growing market presence in Europe, the Middle East, Oceania, Africa and Southeast Asia. Kyocera, parent company of the global Kyocera Group, became the world's leading producer of solar photovoltaic cells in 1998. For the year ended March 31, 1999, the combined sales of solar-related products from Kyocera and Golden Genesis would have amounted to approximately $185 million."The marketing, system integration and distribution capabilities of Golden Genesis are a perfect complement to Kyocera's development and production expertise," said Rodney N. Lanthorne, President of Kyocera International and a managing director of Kyocera Corp. "Adding Golden Genesis will vertically integrate Kyocera's product line and enable us to provide society with clean and reliable renewable energy."Golden Genesis Chairman John Coors stated, "Kyocera has demonstrated a substantial strategic commitment to the market success of solar electricity. Their module products lead the world in quality, and this acquisition reflects well on the top-line sales growth and business infrastructure we have built at Golden Genesis in the last two years."