World's largest renewable energy developer on verge of bankruptcy

30.03.2016
The world's largest renewable energy developer, SunEdison, may be on the verge of filing for bankruptcy protection after it was revealed that it is reportedly being investigated for overstating its financial stability.

SunEdison has had an aggressive acquisition history, but those buyouts have left it with $11 billion in debt, Reuters reported.

"SunEdison is having more than its share of troubles," Deutsche Bank wrote in an announcement that it was suspending its ratings of both SunEdison and its parent company, TerraForm Global.

TerraForm Global announced its 10K filing would be delayed due to SunEdison's financial reporting issues. TerraForm's annual report was to be filed by Wednesday.

"SunEdison and its subcontractors are continuing to perform substantially under the operations and maintenance contracts for our operating projects," TerraForm Global wrote in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. "Due to SunEdison's liquidity difficulties, there is a substantial risk that SunEdison will soon seek bankruptcy protection. Such an action would have a material adverse effect on TerraForm Global given our reliance on SunEdison."

Deutsche Bank noted SunEdison is "suffering under a collapsed stock price, multiple lawsuits, and an accounting investigation."

A Wall Street Journal report this week revealed that SunEdison is being investigated for overstating its cash position. SunEdison's shares fell more than 40% after the article was published Monday.

Since reaching a high of $30 per share in July, SunEdison's shares have tanked, closing at less than a dollar per share yesterday. The share price was at 57 cents today.

SunEdison's deal to acquire Vivint Solar for $2.2 billion fell apart earlier this month when Vivint terminated the agreement citing failure by SunEdison to meet its financial obligations.

SunEdison was required to secure bank financing in order to complete the buyout of Vivint, one of the largest providers of rooftop solar systems. Recent media reports suggest that banks were unwilling to provide financing for the deal, according to a report by Deutsche Bank.

SunEdison did not respond to a request for comment from Computerworld.

(www.computerworld.com)

Lucas Mearian