Korea's solar energy panel parts maker Nexolon back on the sale block

South Korea’s solar energy firm Nexolon Co. under court receivership is back on the sale block.

Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, the lead manager of the sale, said on Monday that it had won a local district court permit to proceed with the sale by offering rights offering to a third party. Letters of intent would be received by Mar. 25 and auction will be held on Apr. 29 after bidders complete due diligence.

Nexolon is a solar wafer maker led by Lee Woo-chung, who is the second son of OCI Group Chairman Lee Soo-young and younger brother of OCI CEO Lee Woo-hyun. Nexolon is known to be best in the local industry in production of ingots and wafers for solar panels.

The company ran into financial problem due to depressed photovoltaic demand and fiercer competition with the Chinese rivals and applied for court receivership in August last year. As of the third quarter last year, the company incurred an operating loss of 36.7 billion won ($30.88 million) on cumulative sales of 108.4 billion won. The first auction in late last year fell through because it failed to draw a single bidder.

The photovoltaic business is expected to turn around in the first half of this year, an investment bank industry official noted, adding that Chinese companies which have solidified positions on the global photovoltaic market could be interested in the company.

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