Swiss industrial group ABB is to purchase U.S. solar energy company Power-One Inc for about $1 billion, betting that growth in emerging markets will revive a sector ravaged by overcapacity and weakening demand in recession-hit Europe.The world's biggest supplier of industrial motors and power grids said on Monday it had agreed to pay $6.35 per share in cash for Power-One, the second-largest maker of solar inverters that allow solar power to be fed into grids.The offer price is 57 percent above Power-One's closing price on Friday, boosted by $266 million in net cash held by debt-free Power-One. Stripping out its cash pile, Power-One's enterprise value stands at $762 million, valuing the bid at a more modest 6.4 times 2012 core earnings.As solar power gets closer to competing with conventional forms of energy such as gas and coal, demand for solar panels that harness the sun's energy is rising.
Power-One, Inc. is a designer and manufacturer of inverters for the renewable energy industry. Shares of PWER remained unchanged at $4.04. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $3.51 and as high as $7.16. On average, 1589730 shares of PWER exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 19194628.
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