...hier. Ich habe mal versucht das Internet zu durchstöbern um neue News zu finden. Allerdings ist seid Januar 2010 wieder Funkstille seitens der Geschäftsführer. Naja. Ich poste dann trotzdem mal den Artikel von Dezember 2009 aus dem 21Ventures Newsletter Q4 von Januar 2010. Dieser Artikel hilft auf jeden Fall einen Überblick über die derzeitige/zukünftige Situation von Applied Solar zu bekommen... APPLIED SOLAR LAUNCHED AS A WHOLLY OWNED QT COMPANY FOLLOWING EMERGENCE FROM BANKRUPTCY. In October of 2009, Applied Solar emerged from bankruptcy as a private company that is now wholly owned by the Quercus Trust. This follows almost a year of major restructuring that has seen the company shed manufacturing assets and transform itself into a licensor of intellectual property (IP) for Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) roofing products. The company has also shed its public ownership structure, the complexity of which made it almost impossible to raise working capital throughout 2009. The transformation into a wholly-owned Quercus Trust company comes as a result of QT’s successful bid to acquire substantially all of the assets of predecessor company that had filed a chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring in July of 2009. Applied Solar’s business is focused on developing BIPV products for both residential and commercial building rooftops. The company originally manufactured these products in facilities in Toronto, Canada and northern California. Eventually, the company migrated away from a direct manufacturing platform, and towards a contract manufacturing operation in a bid to further reduce product manufacturing costs. In early 2009, and as a result of the continued working capital constraints and product warranty commitments, the company further migrated towards a licensing model, through the execution of two separate BIPV product licensing agreements with Suntech Power, the largest solar module manufacturer in the world. This model has proven very successful and has allowed the company to focus its efforts on further developing industry leading BIPV products and to develop additional strategic partnerships within the industry. Becoming a privately held, Quercus Trust company has further enhanced Applied Solar’s ability to negotiate additional licensing agreements within the solar industry. Another key advantage resulting from the bankruptcy restructuring and subsequent purchase of the original Applied Solar assets by the Quercus- Trust, has been management’s ability to launch another new business in conjunction with both the Quercus Trust and other strategic partners of Applied Solar. More specifically, this month will see the formal launch of OneRoof Energy, Inc., which is providing a proprietary sales platform and residential solar lease financing vehicle specifically for the roofing and building industry, thus enabling an entirely new solar distribution channel. The company further leverages the BIPV products licensed by Applied Solar, manufactured by Suntech Power and further distributed by Eagle Roofing, the largest residential concrete tile manufacturer in North America, and builds upon management’s success track record in driving BIPV products through the roofing channel. In addition to the Quercus Trust, other participants in OneRoof Energy include Suntech Power, Eagle Roofing and Tritec Energy, one of the largest solar distributors and integrators in Europe. In summary, while the process of restructuring Applied Solar has been a challenge on a number of fronts, the ability to operate as a privately held, Quercus Trust company has significantly enhanced the business prospects for the company and its strategic partners. In the course of doing so, new products and business opportunities are already beginning to materialize, many of which would not have been possible as a result of the prior company’s ownership structure and limited access to capital. Written by David Field, CEO 31 December 2009 |