Hanergy Acquiring MiaSolé (A)

In September 2012, John Carrington, CEO of California-based MiaSolé, a U.S. manufacturer of thin-film solar panels, visited Jason Chow and Michael Yang, heads of the Global Investment Department of Hanergy, in their Beijing office to try to sell MiaSolé to Hanergy. The two companies had discussed several times the possibility of Hanergy buying MiaSolé, but without result. This time, Carrington indicated that his firm was in urgent need of cash and was back to negotiate. Case (A) in this two-part series is from Hanergy’s point of view. Hanergy wanted to seize the acquiring opportunity and do it at the lowest possible price. It planned to acquire the company for free from shareholders while paying its external debt of $30 million. Case (B) describes the position of MiaSolé’s shareholders, who wanted to find a buyer that would continue to help MiaSolé develop its thin-film solar technology and treat its employees well. This case series deals with how to balance the needs of both sides in a cross-border acquisition so as to achieve a successful implementation of the transaction.