A minority investor in REC Silicon has filed a petition in U.S. courts for info associated to Hanwha Group’s involvement in REC Silicon’s operations. The petition claims that Hanwha Group, at the moment REC Silicon’s largest shareholder, purposely tanked REC Silicon’s polysilicon manufacturing efforts in Moses Lake, Washington, with the intention to seize full possession of the corporate.
The Moses Lake manufacturing plant
REC Silicon, a Norwegian firm, has an extended historical past of polysilicon manufacturing in Moses Lake. After being one of many high polysilicon producers on the earth, a series of market events pressured REC Silicon to shut its Washington plant in 2018. In 2022, Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group turned REC Silicon’s largest shareholder, offering money to restart manufacturing and a safe provide contract to the Hanwha Qcells photo voltaic panel manufacturing operation in Georgia. REC Silicon was within the means of restarting polysilicon manufacturing at Moses Lake when it abruptly ceased all operations in late 2024.
REC Silicon acknowledged that it was unable to proceed operations in Moses Lake after it acquired an “unsuccessful qualification check” by its “buyer.” On the time, Hanwha was thought-about to be REC Silicon’s solely buyer, because it had an unique 10-year provide deal.
In April 2025, Hanwha despatched an $88.6 million all-cash offer to amass all excellent shares of REC Silicon and make the corporate non-public. REC Silicon’s board of administrators, largely represented by Hanwha seats, “unanimously beneficial” that shareholders settle for Hanwha’s deal. Norwegian minority shareholders in a short time voiced their opposition to the deal, writing a letter to “stop the steal.”
Water Road Capital, an funding agency representing minority shareholders, filed the petition within the U.S. District Court docket of the Washington Jap District. It’s requesting info from REC Silicon with the intention to carry an acceptable civil lawsuit in Norwegian courts.
Water Road Capital claims that Hanwha made deceptive statements to REC Silicon’s different shareholders by “failing to reveal that it has sabotaged the operations on the Moses Lake facility, terminated the plant’s skilled workers, repeatedly modified manufacturing procedures and deliberately triggered REC Silicon to fail a vital check of its product’s high quality as a pretext to terminate the 10-year provide contract.” As soon as REC Silicon’s inventory value collapsed after the plant shutdown in December 2024, Water Road Capital says that Hanwha was capable of start a takeover bid for “pennies on the greenback.”
In the meantime, Hanwha despatched a letter to REC Silicon’s Board of Administrators on June 24 stating that if the voluntary supply was not accepted, “Hanwha could now not have the ability to present extra funding to REC Silicon.” It seems that REC Silicon doesn’t have enough money accessible to proceed operations for the 12 months. Shareholders have been scheduled to vote on the bid yesterday, however that was extended to July 8 and will probably be prolonged up till Aug. 1.
Water Road Capital has requested that its petition for discovery be expedited for the upcoming shareholder vote, however nothing has been determined but.
