Germany’s Q-Cells Going To Hanwha

South Korea’s Hanwha Chemical has acquired the bankrupt solar-cell company Q-Cells for about $50 million plus operational liabilities in the “lower triple-digit millions” of dollars. About 1,250 of Q-Cells’ 1,550 employees will transfer to Hanwha, as will R&D and production facilities in Germany and Malaysia. Job cuts will mainly be in Q-Cells’ administrative operations in Berlin. Q-Cells had sales last year of nearly $1.3 billion. Hanwha, which is active in photo­voltaics through its Chinese subsidiary Hanwha SolarOne, says the deal will make it the world’s third-largest solar-cell manufacturer. “Due to global economic recession, the solar industry is going through some difficulties,” Hanwha Chairman Seung-Youn Kim said earlier this year. “However, we are determined to seize the opportunity upon the market’s recovery.”