TZS Strategic Investment in Maxeon at Greater Than
$1 Billion Valuation
Repositions SunPower as U.S. Downstream Pure-Play Solar
Company
SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SunPower
(NASDAQ:SPWR) and Maxeon Solar Technologies (NASDAQ:MAXN) today
announced that they completed the strategic transaction announced
last November, separating into two independent public companies.
Each will now focus on their critical success factors for their
respective business models.
"Now is the right time for this strategic spin-off, allowing
both SunPower and Maxeon to invest in key programs to drive their
future profitable growth," said Tom
Werner, SunPower CEO and chairman of the board. "Solar power
is poised for significant growth and now each company is
well-positioned to succeed based on specific areas of
specialization, technology innovation and economies of scale."
Tom Werner continues as CEO and
chairman of the board of SunPower, headquartered in California's Silicon Valley, with an employee
and economic investment footprint across the U.S. and Canada. It also has an exclusive U.S. dealer
network, the largest domestic residential and light commercial
franchise. The company's Hillsboro,
Ore. manufacturing facility will remain part of
SunPower.
"The new SunPower will further develop as the leading North
American distributed generation (DG), storage and energy services
company with an end-to-end software platform, differentiated
products and solutions and an asset-light approach," added Werner.
"And I also want to thank our majority shareholder Total, strongly
engaged in low carbon electricity, for its continued support since
2011."
Maxeon is a global solar innovation leader with a strong channel
to market that includes a worldwide network of more than 1,100
authorized sales and installation partners, and a strategy to move
beyond the roof into adjacent DG products outside of the U.S. and
Canada. Jeff Waters is CEO of Maxeon, headquartered in
Singapore with panel and cell
manufacturing facilities located in France, Malaysia, Mexico and the
Philippines. Concurrent with this transaction is an equity
investment of $298 million into
Maxeon by long-time partner Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor Co.,
Ltd. (TZS), a premier global supplier of silicon wafers. The TZS
investment facilitates scale–up Maxeon production capacity of the
newest generation of its Maxeon product family.
"We are prepared to start our first day as Maxeon, with
industry-leading technology, a strong brand, a unique global sales
channel and strong investment partners," said Jeff Waters, CEO of Maxeon. "TZS has been a
proven, long-time strategic partner of SunPower's, cooperating on
seven joint ventures and joint development projects since 2012. We
are excited to have TZS's backing at this important juncture in the
emergence of solar power as a mainstream energy
source."
Maxeon and SunPower are cooperating to develop and commercialize
next generation solar panel technologies, with early stage research
conducted by SunPower's Silicon Valley-based research and
development group, and deployment-focused innovation and scale-up
carried out by Maxeon.
"The creation of two separate public companies, that Total has
fully supported as the majority shareholder, is a strategic
milestone in SunPower's development and in our decade-long
partnership," said Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman of the board and CEO
of Total. "I want to offer my congratulations on the successful
transaction and express my support to the teams whose remarkable
efforts allowed us to make this operation a success. This will
enable both companies to fully leverage their strengths on focused
businesses: distributed generation marketing on the U.S. market on
one side and solar panels manufacturing on the other side."
"We invested in SunPower nearly ten years ago next Spring and
our partnership has come far," said Patrick Pouyanne, chairman of
the board and CEO of Total. "Today is a significant step in our
evolution. We believe the time is right for each company to start
off on their own, leveraging their own strengths, with focused
business plans and defined markets."
SunPower has distributed to holders of its shares one Maxeon
share for every eight SunPower shares held on close of business on
Aug. 17, 2020, the record date for
the spin-off. Maxeon's ordinary shares begin trading today on
NASDAQ under MAXN.
About unPower
Headquartered California's Silicon
Valley, SunPower's (NASDAQ:SPWR) is the leading Distributed
Generation Storage and Energy Services provider in North America. SunPower offers the only solar
+ storage solution designed by one company that gives customers
complete control over energy consumption, delivering grid
independence, resiliency during power outages and cost savings to
homeowners, businesses, governments, schools and utilities. For
more information, visit www.sunpower.com.
About Maxeon Solar Technologies
Maxeon Solar
Technologies (NASDAQ: MAXN) is Powering Positive Change™.
Headquartered in Singapore, Maxeon
designs and sells SunPower brand solar panels across more than 100
countries and is the leader in solar innovation with access to over
900 patents and two best-in-class solar panel product lines. With
operations in Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe and Mexico, Maxeon products span the global
rooftop and solar power plant markets through a network of more
than 1,100 trusted partners and distributors. A pioneer in
sustainable solar manufacturing, Maxeon leverages a 35-year history
in the solar industry and numerous awards for its technology. For
more information about how Maxeon is Powering Positive Change™
visit us at www.maxeon.com, on LinkedIn and on Twitter
@maxeonsolar.
SunPower's Forward-Looking Statements
This press
release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including,
but not limited to, statements regarding our future plans and areas
of focus, our expectations for the growth of solar power, our and
Maxeon's positioning for future success following the spin-off, our
future business plans, and our expectations for technology
collaboration with Maxeon. These forward-looking statements are
based on our current assumptions, expectations and beliefs and
involve substantial risks and uncertainties that may cause results,
performance or achievement to materially differ from those
expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors
that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are
not limited to: regulatory changes and the availability of economic
incentives promoting use of solar energy; challenges managing our
acquisitions, joint ventures and partnerships, including our
ability to successfully manage acquired assets and supplier
relationships, including our supply and technology collaboration
relationship with Maxeon; and competition in the solar and general
energy industry and downward pressure on selling prices and
wholesale energy pricing. A detailed discussion of these factors
and other risks that affect our business is included in filings we
make with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from time to
time, including our most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q,
particularly under the heading "Risk Factors." Copies of these
filings are available online from the SEC or on the SEC Filings
section of our Investor Relations website at
investors.sunpower.com. All forward-looking statements in this
press release are based on information currently available to us,
and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking
statements in light of new information or future events.
Maxeon's Forward-Looking Statements
This press release
contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but
not limited to, statements regarding our future plans and areas of
focus, our positioning for future success following the spin-off,
our future business plans, and our expectations for technology
collaboration with SunPower. These forward-looking statements are
based on our current assumptions, expectations and beliefs and
involve substantial risks and uncertainties that may cause results,
performance or achievement to materially differ from those
expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors
that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are
not limited to: challenges managing our joint ventures and
partnerships, including our ability to successfully manage key
supplier and customer relationships, as well as the supply and
technology collaboration relationship with SunPower; competition in
the solar and general energy industry and downward pressure on
selling prices and wholesale energy pricing; and the success of our
ongoing research and development efforts and our ability to
commercialize new products and services, including products and
services developed through strategic partnerships. A detailed
discussion of these factors and other risks that affect our
business is included in filings we make with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) from time to time, including our most
recent report on Form 20-F, as amended, particularly under the
heading "Risk Factors." Copies of these filings are available
online from the SEC or on the SEC Filings section of our Investor
Relations website at investors.maxeon.com. All forward-looking
statements in this press release are based on information currently
available to us, and we assume no obligation to update these
forward-looking statements in light of new information or future
events.
© 2020 SunPower Corporation. All Rights Reserved. SUNPOWER and
the SUNPOWER logo are registered trademarks of SunPower Corporation
in the U.S.
© 2020 Maxeon Solar Technologies, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
MAXEON is a registered trademark of Maxeon Solar Technologies, Ltd.
View maxeon.com/trademarks for more information.
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