JA Solar's CEO proposes to buy company

Jinglong Group Co Ltd and the chairman and CEO of JA Solar Holdings Co Ltd (NASDAQ:JASO) have made a joint non-binding proposal to buy out the Chinese solar products maker.

The offer in the non-binding proposal letter, dated June 6, is for USD 6.80 (EUR 6.04) in cash per American depositary share (ADS), or USD 1.36 per ordinary share. The proposal will be evaluated by a special committee of the board with the help of financial and legal advisors.

JA Solar CEO Baofang Jin is the sole director of Jinglong Group, which is based in the British Virgin Islands.

In May Jin said JA Solar is cautious on the business outlook for the second half of 2017, because of the limited visibility into customer demand, and the severe pricing competition across multiple geographies. The solar company reported a net profit of CNY 719.6 million (USD 105.5m/EUR 93.7m) in 2016 on revenues of CNY 15.7 billion, as external shipments jumped by 24.9% to 4,920 MW. It expects second-quarter 2017 cell and module shipments of 1,550-1,650 MW, mostly to external customers, after 1,375.3 MW in the first quarter.

Another Chinese photovoltaic (PV) modules maker, Trina Solar Ltd, went private in late 2016 after its chairman and chief executive officer made a proposal, together with a unit of Industrial Bank Co Ltd (SHA:601166), to acquire and delist it.

(CNY 10 = USD 1.46/EUR 1.3)

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