Regardless of pushback from minority shareholders, Hanwha now has a majority stake in REC Silicon. The bulk share was acquired in early September by Anchor AS, a Norwegian outfit representing Hanwha Options and Hanwha Corp. Hanwha acquired all excellent shares in REC Silicon at its provide worth of NOK 2.2 (US $0.21) per share.
Thus places a short lived pin within the ongoing saga involving REC Silicon, previously one of many world’s largest producers of polysilicon. The Norwegian firm operated a photo voltaic polysilicon plant in Moses Lake, Washington, earlier than market occasions pressured its closure in 2018. In 2022, Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group turned REC Silicon’s largest shareholder, offering money to restart manufacturing and a safe polysilicon provide contract to the Hanwha Qcells photo voltaic panel manufacturing operation in Georgia. REC Silicon was within the strategy 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 take a look at” by its “buyer.” On the time, Hanwha was thought of to be REC Silicon’s solely buyer, because it had an unique 10-year provide deal.
In April 2025, Hanwha despatched an all-cash offer to amass all excellent shares of REC Silicon and take the corporate non-public. REC Silicon’s board of administrators, largely represented by Hanwha seats, “unanimously advisable” that shareholders settle for Hanwha’s deal. Norwegian minority shareholders very quickly voiced their opposition to the deal, writing a letter to “cease the steal.”
Water Road Capital, an funding agency representing minority shareholders, claimed 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 staff, repeatedly modified manufacturing procedures and deliberately precipitated REC Silicon to fail a vital take a look at of its product’s high quality as a pretext to terminate the 10-year provide contract.” As soon as REC Silicon’s inventory worth collapsed after the plant shutdown in December 2024, Water Road says that Hanwha was capable of begin a takeover bid for “pennies on the greenback.”
At an annual normal assembly in June, REC Silicon shareholders voted in a brand new board of administrators that included Norwegian representatives and eliminated Hanwha names. Minority shareholders additionally requested an inner investigation.
However now it appears issues have been ironed out. Hanwha’s takeover bid was permitted, and Hanwha proposed new board members seemingly with Water Road’s blessing. Hanwha mentioned that the brand new board “put(s) emphasis on stability and prior information of the corporate’s operations.” REC Silicon announced on Oct. 15 that Norwegian courts dominated to dismiss the inner investigation request made by minority shareholders in June.
In the meantime, REC Silicon as an operational enterprise remains to be treading water. Earlier this month, Anchor AS offered REC Silicon with a $7 million short-term loan to fund the corporate’s “pressing operational capital wants.”
“REC Silicon doesn’t have adequate out there money to fulfill debt service and different anticipated working money stream necessities going ahead with out the continued assist of the foremost shareholder, Hanwha, or further sources of capital,” mentioned REC Silicon in an announcement. “Due to this fact, it’s going to quickly require further financing past this mortgage, both from Hanwha or from different sources of capital, none of which have but been finalized or assured.”
This mortgage is separate from earlier loans provided by Hanwha International LLC, which now exceed $103 million.
There have been no bulletins but concerning whether or not or not polysilicon operations can be restarted in Moses Lake.
