Maxeon Solar Technologies To Spin Off From SunPower In Q3 2020

Solar power is hot right now on the heels of yesterday’s announced deal for Sunrun(RUN) to buy Vivint Solar(VSLR). SunPower(SPWR), another major solar power player, is moving forward with its plan to spin off the international portion of its technologies business as Maxeon Solar Technologies. Towards that end, the company filed its Form 20-F registration statement last week.

The spinoff, first announced in November 2019, is expected to be completed by the end of this quarter. SunPower shareholders will receive one share of Maxeon for every eight SunPower shares owned. Maxeon will trade on NASDAQ under the MAXN ticker. The transaction is expected to be tax free for shareholders. Subsequent to the spinoff, Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor Co (TZS:00219.SZ) will invest $298 million and own 28.848% of Maxeon.

Tom Werner will continue to serve as CEO of SunPower while Jeff Waters will become CEO of Maxeon.

• SunPower will continue as the leading North American distributed generation, storage and energy services company with more than 500 dealer partners and 3.2 gigawatts installed in the residential, new homes and commercial direct markets.
• Newly formed Maxeon Solar Technologies will combine its leading global sales channel outside the U.S. and Canada with pioneering solar innovation and capital-efficient manufacturing. Maxeon will market SunPower branded panels outside the U.S. and Canada through its industry-leading network of more than 1,100 sales and installation partners.

With solar power becoming an increasingly important part of the global energy supply, both SunPower and Maxeon will bear further watching as the spinoff proceeds and each charts its own path.

Disclosure: The author holds no position in any stock mentioned