KUALA LUMPUR: Melaka-based SunPower Malaysia Manufacturing Sdn Bhd will not be affected by Nasdaq-listed SunPower Corp's downfall given that it was hived off to Singapore's Maxeon Solar Technologies four years ago.
Though the name remained the same, SunPower Malaysia is now fully owned by Maxeon Solar Technologies after a strategic spin-off separated SunPower and Maxeon into two independent public companies in August 2020.
Maxeon, a Nasdaq-listed company, operates panel and cell manufacturing facilities in France, Malaysia, Mexico and the Philippines.
Following the spin-off, SunPower Corp focused on its growth as a distributed generation storage and energy services provider in North America, while SunPower entities outside the US are operated by Maxeon, including the RM8 billion solar factory in Melaka.
SunPower's factory in Melaka, Malaysia is a 1.8 megawatt solar cell manufacturing plant, employing 700 workers and producing over one million solar wafers per day.
In its filing with the US Securities Exchange Commission on Tuesday, SunPower said it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States and agreed to sell some of its business to Complete Solaria for US$45 million cash.
The major shareholders of the Nasdaq-listed company includes France's TotalEnergies, BlackRock Advisors and Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Co.
According to SunPower, assets and liabilities worth US$1 billion to US$10 billion were listed in its Chapter 11 petition in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
It also agreed to sell assets including its Blue Raven Solar installation unit and new home businesses to Complete Solaria as a stalking horse buyer for US$45 million.
A stalking horse buyer refers to an initial bid on a bankrupt company's assets from an interested buyer, chosen by the bankrupt company.