From pv magazine Germany
Centrotec's last contact with the PV sector dates back to 2012, when the company – then still known as Centrotec Sustainable AG – sold its shares in German solar developer Centrosolar AG, marking its withdrawal from the industry.
However, Centrotec Sustainable AG renamed itself Centrotec SE this year and has jumped back into the PV business. The company has acquired Switzerland's Pari Group AG, based in Switzerland, for a price of €43 million ($50.9 million).
The Pari Group is a holding company that owns an 80% stake in CS Wismar GmbH, which is also known by the Sonnenstromfabrik trademark. It produces glass-glass PV modules, among other things. According to Centrotec, these glass-glass panels can be used in buildings where there is a high proportion of self-consumption. The Pari Group's real estate portfolio includes Sonnenstromfabrik's production facility in Wismar, Germany.
CS Wismar currently employs 110 people, according to Centrotec. It recorded sales of €19.4 million and an operating profit of €500,000 in fiscal 2019. This year, it expects a significant increase in sales to €29.3 million and an EBITDA of €1.2 million.
Centrotec assumes that the increasing decarbonization in the area of heat generation and steadily falling prices for battery storage systems will lead to greater demand for PV solutions in the building sector – especially for complete systems that generate and store electricity and heat. With the acquisition of a majority stake in Sonnenstromfabrik, Centrotec wants to push ahead with its efforts to use renewable energy to supply heat and fresh air in buildings.
According to Centrotec, the transaction is still subject to a number of conditions, and needs to be approved by Germany's Federal Cartel Office. It expects to finalize the deal at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The final purchase price will be determined retroactively, based on net financial liabilities and net current assets when the transaction is completed.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.