SunEdison LLC

SunEdison is an American semiconductor company based in St. Peters, Missouri. SunEdison listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is part of the S & P MidCap 400 index. The company was founded in 1959 as Monsanto Electronic Materials Company ( MEMC ) and was part of the Monsanto group. Since May 30, 2013 MEMC operates under the name SunEdison.

History

Foundation

MEMC was founded on August 6, 1959 by U.S. chemical giant Monsanto. As early as 1959, MEMC began production of 19 - mm silicon wafers in St. Charles County, Missouri. As one of the first companies in the production of semiconductor wafers, MEMC has been a pioneer and introduced innovations that were for years the industry standard. So MEMC used the Czochralski process, introduced the chemical mechanical polishing ( CMP) and began production of 1.5-inch wafers. In 1966, the first reactors for the production of EPI slices were installed and discovered the zero- displacement -silicon crystals by the MEMC researcher Horst Kramer.

Expansion

In the 1970s, MEMC opened a production facility in Kuala Lumpur ( Malaysia). Gradually, the wafer diameter were increased up to 5 inches. 1981 built MEMC was the first non- Japanese company to a production and development facilities in Japan, especially in Utsunomiya. Three years later, the production of 200 mm wafers was included MEMC succeeded in doing so became the first company on a commercial basis.

Change of ownership

The high price pressure by Japanese company brought MEMC in the late 1980s under increasing pressure. Despite rising sales figures MEMC was not profitable and was different from Monsanto Company offered for sale. 1989 MEMC was of Dynamit Nobel silicone (DNS), a subsidiary of Hüls AG, purchased, which in turn belonged to the VEBA Group. DNS operation at this time silicon wafer plants in Merano and Novara, Italy. These were placed in the new MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc.. Sleeve supported the new subsidiary with $ 50 million that flowed partly in research and development. MEMC succeeded in 1991 to produce the first company to 300 - mm wafers commercially and produce granular polysilicon. 1995 acquired MEMC production capacity for granular polysilicon in Pasadena, Texas.

With an IPO in 1995, MEMC was to publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange Company. As part of the IPO more than USD 440 million were achieved. VEBA was doing from a portion of its shares in MEMC, however, retained the majority. 1998 MEMC has been hit hard by a downturn in the cyclical semiconductor market and had a loss of $ 316 million with 759 million USD sales record. The following years showed no sales or earnings.

In June 2000, the VEBA, which is still 72 % of MEMC held, together with the VIAG on the E.ON AG, founded went. E.ON wanted to concentrate on the core business of power generation and instructed Merrill Lynch to the sale of MEMC. Buyers were not found and also MEMC announced mid-year on the brink of bankruptcy to stand. Finally, E.ON negotiate a sale of its shares to private equity firm Texas Pacific Group (TPG ) - for the symbolic price of 1 USD, and the guarantee of the credit facilities of $ 150 million.

As part of a restructuring of the debt of MEMC TPG was able to increase its share of MEMC. In addition to measures to reduce costs - so the number of employees was reduced from 7,000 to 4,700 - was able to convince them that MEMC will survive TPG customers; the market share of MEMC rose again. 2002 MEMC could make profits again.

After a significant improvement in the company's key TPG was able to reduce its shareholding through a secondary offering to 34% and thereby save more than $ 750 million in 2005. Revenue from the sale of non- benefited MEMC.

Entry into the solar market

With the boom in the photovoltaic industry, MEMC was from 2006, numerous long-term supply of solar wafers complete volume with several billion USD, such as Suntech Power, Tainergy Tech, Gintech Energy and Conergy. Based on high spot prices were in those contracts not only decrease volumes agreed at fixed prices, but MEMC could also collect advance payments. But in mid-2008, it came through the price decline for solar wafers to disagreements with the contractors. MEMC had to respond to the halving of the supply contract over $ 8 billion with Conergy. Nevertheless, Conergy sued the invalidity of the contract an early 2009. An out of court settlement took place in 2010, in the MEMC agreed to further reductions in contract volume to less than a billion USD.

Recent past

2009 MEMC founded a joint venture with Q -Cells, which specializes in the construction and operation of photovoltaic power plants. MEMC invested than 50 percent partner $ 100 million in the joint venture that built a 54 MWp solar park in Straßkirchen, Bavaria. As planned, the plant was sold in 2010 after commissioning of the Northern Capital investment company.

End of 2009, MEMC bought SunEdison, a North American company that is planning large-scale solar projects, financed and built and the largest operator of solar power plants in North America. The acquisition was for $ 200 million, of which 70 % in MEMC shares and 30 % in cash. An additional 90 million USD were agreed as performance-related bonus, which were due to reaching certain goals for 2010.

Mid-2010, MEMC acquired for $ 76 million, the California-based solar technology company Solaicx whose continuous crystal growth technology enables the cost-effective production of monocrystalline solar wafers.

In early 2011 announced Samsung Fine Chemicals and MEMC to set up a 50-50 joint venture in Ulsan, South Korea. This is expected to produce high purity polysilicon with an initial capacity of 10,000 tons per year.

In December 2011, far-reaching restructuring measures were announced, mined throughout the world in the course of its 1,300 employees (18% of the workforce) and the capacity for polysilicon production and the production of solar wafers to be significantly reduced. MEMC will focus more on project business in the field of PV energy and the semiconductor area. The production of solar modules and precursors should be greatly reduced.

On May 30, 2013 were announced that the company will in future operate as SunEdison. The renaming of the Stock Exchange on June 3, 2013.

Operations

Since the acquisition of SunEdison, MEMC divides its business into three segments.

• Semiconductor wafer supplies the electronics industry with semiconductors. The product range comprises of MEMC wafers up to a diameter of 300 mm. Production capacity of around 2 million wafers per month are available. In addition to the Asian production sites in Utsunomiya, Japan, Chonan ( Korea ), Hsinchu (Taiwan, Taisil ), Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh (both Malaysia) MEMC also operates an office in Novara (Italy). The production facilities in the U.S. ( St. Peters (Missouri ), Sherman ( Texas)) are to be relocated to Asia. Besides polished and epitaxial wafers offers high- MEMC - Resistivity ( high electrical resistance) and SOI wafers. MEMC compete in this segment with SUMCO, Shin- Etsu, Siltronic and Siltron. MEMCs market share is around 12%.

• Solar Materials: MEMC polysilicon is in solar and semiconductor quality in Pasadena (Texas ) and Merano (Italy ) ago. The production capacity from 10,000 tons, an increase to 12,500 t has been announced. The material is used mainly themselves, but sales were made in 2006-2009. In addition to the opportunistic sale of silanes, especially solar wafers are sold. These are sometimes made ​​itself because its own capacity of 600 MW are not sufficient, however, created via contract manufacturing contracts from partners.

• The business model of SunEdison allows customers without pre-financing to purchase solar power. SunEdison collects doing a money of investors and uses these to solar systems - to build - some with MEMC solar wafers. The facilities are operated by the establishment of SunEdision under service contracts. The investors receive returns from electricity produced quantities including government subsidies. The solar power is delivered to power generators or other entrepreneurs; the model is particularly relevant in the U.S., where many states stipulate minimum quotas for "green" electricity for the next few years.