Q-Cells Falls to Record as Company to File for Insolvency

Q-Cells SE (QCE), once the world’s largest solar-cell maker, fell to a record low in Frankfurt trading before the German company said it will file for insolvency as soon as tomorrow.

Q-Cells tumbled as much as 41 percent and was trading down 40 percent at 13 euro cents at 4:07 p.m. The manufacturer held its initial public offering in October 2005, when the shares sold at 38 euros apiece.

The stock has plunged 73 percent this year as Q-Cells has worked to reorganize debt while Germany’s government reduces solar subsidies and the industry fights overcapacity worldwide. A court ruling on a separate company’s restructuring set a precedent that makes the overhaul of Q-Cells unfeasible, the Bitterfeld-Wolfen solar-panel maker said in a statement today.

“After considering several alternative concepts to implement the debt restructuring, management is convinced that the company faces too many legal risks,” Q-Cells said. “We are legally bound to file for insolvency.”

Q-Cells based its decision on a ruling in late March by the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court that required Pfleiderer AG (PFD4), a wood processing company, to seek unanimous agreement from creditors to a debt restructuring. Until that court decision, Q- Cells had planned to restructure its debt based on approval by a majority of creditors.

Q-Cells, which said on March 30 that it was exploring alternatives to the plan after reaching agreements with its main bondholders and authorities in Malaysia and Germany, also said today its board no longer sees the company as a going concern.

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