Struggling thin-film solar PV maker First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) has seen its stock price fall by about -75% this year, and its enterprise value fall by nearly -90%. But the company is still a major force in the solar PV industry and could be an attractive takeover target for conglomerates like General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), Siemens AG (NYSE: SI), or Samsung Electronics (OTC: SSNLF).
At least, that’s the buzz among some solar industry watchers, if not industry analysts. GE already has its own thin-film solar manufacturing plant under construction and probably is willing to wait and see what happens at First Solar. Neither Siemens nor Samsung has said a word.
An offer of around $4 billion would be a fair premium to today’s share price for First Solar, but the company’s longtime shareholders would take nasty hit, considering the company once carried a market cap north of $25 billion.
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