In the face of thousands of announcements of listed companies every day, what should I read? What is the point of the announcement of major events, which is often dozens of pages and hundreds of pages? There are a bunch of professional terms in the announcement, I don't know if it's good or bad? Please take a look at the "Speed Reading Announcement" column of the News Department of the Financial Associated Press, and our reporters stationed all over the country will bring you accurate, fast and professional interpretation on the night of the announcement.

Finance Associated Press, November 12 (Reporter Liu Mengran) The largest merger and acquisition in the history of the domestic photovoltaic industry is facing variables. Late today, Tongwei (600438. SH) announced the progress of its acquisition of Jiangsu Runyang New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Runyang Shares"). It mentions that up to now, the relevant work is still in progress, and the parties to the transaction are still continuing to negotiate on matters related to the transaction, and it is not excluded that there may be a risk that the original transaction plan may be adjusted or terminated; During the negotiation process, the parties to the transaction are also actively discussing other integration options, and the company will disclose any progress or changes in a timely manner.

In August this year, Tongwei Co., Ltd. announced that it planned to spend no more than 5 billion yuan to acquire no less than 51% of the shares of Runyang Co., Ltd., which failed to go public. This scale is the largest M&A plan in the photovoltaic industry and even in the new energy field in recent years.

But the acquisition was not all smooth sailing. Following the large-scale holiday of employees at the Yancheng battery factory in September this year, the Thai factory of Runyang Co., Ltd. is suspected of being suspended recently. According to a document recently obtained by a reporter from the Financial Associated Press, the shutdown time of Runyang Thailand's Phase 4 module plant is from November 7 to January 5, 2025 (a total of 60 days). As for the reason for the shutdown, the document stated that "production is affected by relevant policies and market demand, and the current orders are unstable, which affects the continuity of production." ”

Rumors of overseas production capacity shutting down have increased the uncertainty of the merger and restructuring. An industry analyst told the Financial Associated Press reporter that Runyang's production capacity covers the entire photovoltaic industry chain, and its cell shipments have been at the forefront of the industry before, but at the moment of the violent iteration of battery technology, the industry generally believes that Tongwei has taken a fancy to its overseas production capacity.

After the announcement of the progress of this merger, it has continued to become a hot spot in the market. At the third quarter 2024 results briefing of Tongwei Co., Ltd. held on November 4, Yan Ke, secretary of the board of directors of Tongwei Co., Ltd., replied to investors' questions that the company is continuing to promote audit, evaluation and business due diligence and other related work with third-party intermediaries, and maintains close communication with all relevant parties. If there are important developments or significant changes in relevant matters, the Company will disclose them in a timely manner in accordance with regulatory rules. In addition, the company has no other acquisition plans at this time.

It is worth noting that the greater pressure on Runyang shares also comes from patent risks. According to the WeChat account "Runyang New Energy" on October 4, Runyang's solar module manufacturing plant in Huntsville, Alabama, USA, was officially put into operation. The Alabama plant is expected to have an annual production capacity of 2GW and is expected to become a rising star in solar manufacturing in the United States.

However, on September 30, Trina Solar (688599. SH) filed an application with the ITC (United States International Trade Commission) under Section 337 of the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930, claiming that certain TOPCon solar cells, modules, panels and downstream products exported to the United States, imported and sold in the United States violated Section 337 (hereinafter referred to as the "Section 337 investigation"), and Runyang was named as a defendant.

In this regard, Runyang Co., Ltd. posted in its WeChat public account that it had filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to cancel the two patents involved in Tianhe (IPR procedure) on October 8, 2024.

According to the agenda, the final decision of the IPR procedure will be made in March 2026. However, a person familiar with the matter told the Financial Associated Press reporter that before the final ruling, the disputed product may not be able to be sold in the US market for the time being. According to another legal analyst, if the ITC finds that the infringement is established, it may issue a general exclusion order, a limited exclusion order or an injunction, and once this remedy is issued, the respondent can no longer export the infringing products to the United States, and even the infringing products exported to the United States need to be destroyed.