Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Evergreen Solar stock to be delisted from Nasdaq

By Kyle Alspach, Boston Business Journal

Evergreen Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: ESLR) said its stock will be delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market on Aug. 24 as a result of the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing and deficiency with listing rules.

The Marlborough, Mass.-based solar technologies firm had received two warning letters in July from Nasdaq, in connection with the company’s sub-$1 share price and declining market value.

Then on Monday, the company filed for bankruptcy protection and said it plans to sell its assets to pay off some of the $485.6 million it owes to creditors. The company’s assets are valued at $424.5 million.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Evergreen said it has received notice that Nasdaq staff have decided to suspend the trading of its stock at the opening of business on Aug. 24. Evergreen said it will not appeal the decision. Shares in the company closed at 16 cents on Tuesday.

Shares may trade on the OTC Bulletin Board or the Pink OTC Markets Inc., Evergreen said.

Evergreen said it does have enough funding in hand to operate in Chapter 11, but plans further cost-cutting measures. The company, which cut 800 of its 925 Massachusetts jobs as it closed its Devens, Mass., factory in March, said it will reduce its U.S. and European workforce by about 65.

In a statement announcing the bankruptcy filing on Monday, CEO Michael El-Hillow said Evergreen will continue seeking to reposition itself as a supplier of solar wafers, a building block of solar panels.

The company has opted to shift to wafers after finding stiff competition, particularly from Chinese manufacturers, in the production of solar panels. Evergreen opened its own factory in Wuhan, China, in 2010.