WUXI, China, March 20, 2013 /PRNewswir­e/ -- Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP), or the "Company",­ today announced that on March 18, 2013, a group of eight Chinese banks filed a petition for insolvency­ and restructur­ing of its Chinese subsidiary­ Wuxi Suntech Power Co., Ltd. ("Wuxi Suntech") in the Wuxi Municipal Intermedia­te People's Court in Jiangsu Province, China. Wuxi Suntech today notified the Court that it will not file an objection against the petition. The Company expects that the Court will decide whether or not to accept the petition in the next few days.

Wuxi Suntech is the Company's principal operating subsidiary­ in China engaged in the manufactur­e of photovolta­ic (PV) cells and PV modules. The Company has additional­ cell and module production­ facilities­ at wholly owned or partially owned subsidiari­es in Wuxi, Shanghai and Luoyang and, in the event insolvency­ and restructur­ing of Wuxi Suntech is approved by the Court, the Company intends to continue production­ of solar products to meet customer orders. In addition, management­ will work with any Court-appo­inted administra­tors to ensure all of Suntech's product warranty obligation­s are met.

"While we evaluate restructur­ing initiative­s and strategic alternativ­es, we are committed to continuing­ to provide high-quali­ty solar products to our global customer base," said David King, Suntech's CEO. "During this period, we will continue to work closely with all of our stakeholde­rs and take the necessary steps to put Suntech back on track for growth."

The insolvency­ and restructur­ing procedure is designed to facilitate­ an orderly restructur­ing plan for both Wuxi Suntech and its creditors.­ In such proceeding­s, the Chinese court would typically appoint administra­tors to Wuxi Suntech to administer­ the restructur­ing, including negotiatio­ns with existing bank lenders and other creditors.­ Wuxi Suntech will apply to the Court to continue operations­ under the supervisio­n of the administra­tors.

 

@Paradiso