Jan 17, 2012 | Amsterdam Nuon to offer Helianthos for public sale through an online auction
Nuon has decided to put assets of Helianthos up for sale. An online auction will give all interested parties an equal opportunity to take over all assets or parts of the business of Helianthos. For Nuon, this step is a logical conclusion to the liquidation process.
Nuon will auction off all assets or parts of the business, such as patents and machinery, to interested parties in the spring. An independent auction house will ensure that interested parties can submit a public bid. It is anticipated that it will take six to eight weeks to prepare for the auction. The auction will then take place online over a three to four week period.
“Nuon is keen to ensure the process of looking for a partner for Helianthos that started two years ago is concluded in a transparent way. Unfortunately, so far no party has been willing to fund the further development and market introduction of Helianthos' flexible solar cell foil. Since, despite all our efforts, we have not been successful, we want to give all parties who may still be interested one last chance. Nuon believes that a public online auction is the best option,” explains Nuon's CEO, Huib Morelisse. “It allows interested parties to bid for all assets or parts of the business.”
Nuon prefers the patents and machinery to be bought by a single new owner as this offers the best chance for the launch of Helianthos' solar cell foil on the market. However, at this stage Nuon cannot rule out the possibility of Helianthos' assets being sold separately to a number of different parties.
Background and events
In May 2010, Nuon announced that it was looking for a strategic investment partner to invest in the large-scale launch of Helianthos' product (flexible solar cell foil). An international search over a period of eighteen months and involving more than 150 solar energy companies and investors indicated that there was little interest on the market. Then, in September 2011, Nuon announced that Helianthos was to stop production. The liquidation process started in November 2011. The auction represents the conclusion of this process.