Solutia Buys Solar Film Firm

Continuing to build its solar materials portfolio, Solutia has agreed to buy German film maker Etimex Solar from parent company Alpha Gruppe for $327 million. Solutia emerged from bankruptcy in early 2008 as a slimmed-down specialty chemical firm. Etimex supplies photovoltaic manufacturers with fast-curing ethylene vinyl acetate encapsulants and thermoplastic polyurethane films that do not require curing. The products will join Solutia’s Saflex line of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) encapsulants adapted for the solar industry from products originally used to make architectural and automotive safety glass. Solutia’s newest PVB film is less sensitive to damage from moisture and features embossed microchannels on its surface that are intended to speed up the vacuum encapsulation process. Jefferies & Co. stock analyst Laurence Alexander says, “Acquiring Etimex should help diversify Solutia’s end-market mix, increasing the company’s exposure to the faster growth photovoltaic market.”