BP Amoco Invests $45 Million
In Solarex Stake To
Create World’s Biggest Solar Company
London, UK
April 6, 1999
BP Amoco today stepped up investment in its growing solar energy
business with an announcement that it is to buy the 50 per cent stake it did not already
own in Solarex, one of the world’s leading solar companies in the US, for $45
million.
The buyout of what was previously a 50:50 joint venture between Amoco
and Enron will create the largest solar company in the world.
The integrated company will be called BP Solarex and will build on the
current business activities of Solarex and BP Solar. It will have annual revenues of more
than $150 million, representing a 20 per cent share of the global market. It will have
manufacturing operations in four countries — the USA, Spain, Australia and India,
producing around 30 megawatts of solar products each year.
BP Solarex will have prime positions in leading-edge solar technology,
most notably the new generation of thin films, as well as offering the world’s
broadest product range in crystalline silicon.
BP Amoco chief executive Sir John Browne said: "BP Amoco already
has a strong track record in solar, with leadership technology in key areas. This
acquisition is another significant step towards our target of building a $1 billion solar
business over the next decade.
"Our investment is part of BP Amoco’s wider aim of making
solar an increasingly larger contributor to the energy mix of the 21st century,
in line with our determination to offer our customers progressively cleaner fuels with a
diminishing impact on the natural environment," Browne said.
BP Amoco recently unveiled plans to make cleaner, greener fuels
available in more than 40 of the world’s major cities most troubled by pollution and
smog. It has also targeted a 10 per cent reduction from a 1990 baseline in greenhouse gas
emissions from BP Amoco’s own operations by the year 2010.
The integrated BP Solarex company will be headquartered in Frederick,
Maryland, USA. It will be headed by Harry Shimp, who was recently appointed president and
chief executive of Solarex, and its chairman will be Steve Gates, executive vice president
and chief of staff of BP Amoco.
The acquisition from Enron, which is subject to a number of regulatory
and other approvals, is expected to be completed by the end of April.
Notes to Editors:
- The deal follows the merger of BP and Amoco which was completed on December 31, 1998.
- Solarex was formed in 1973 and has been a joint venture between Amoco and Enron since
1995. It has grown to become a leading global manufacturer of polycrystalline cells and
modules with a turnover of $58 million in 1998. Headquartered in Frederick, Maryland, USA,
Solarex employs over 600 staff world wide. It has manufacturing sites in Maryland,
Virginia and Australia, and sales and marketing offices in seven countries. Major recent
projects include a $30 million contract in Indonesia for one of the world’s largest
rural electrification projects, and a partnership in Japan with MSK Corporation and Misawa
Homes which targets the residential market.
- BP’s solar division, BP Solar, was established in 1981 and had a 1998 turnover of
$95million. It has manufacturing bases in Australia, India, Spain and California,
producing 13.2MW a year. It is currently based in Sunbury, England and has some 900
employees worldwide. Major recent projects include the supply of solar panels to the
athletes village for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia and a $30 million project to
supply solar power to some 400 remote villages in the Philippines.
For further information, contact:
BP Solar - Clare Bebbington +44 (0)1932 762535
Solarex - Sarah Howell +1 301 698 4272
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