New York-based Magnolia Solar Corp. and Singapore-based Solar Silicon Resources Group Pte. Ltd. (SSRG) have agreed to merge their business interests and assets.
Under the terms of the agreement, SSRG would become a wholly owned subsidiary of Magnolia Solar in exchange for which the former's parent, Auzminerals Resource Group Ltd., also based in Singapore, would own 95% of the latter. The remaining 5% would be held by Magnolia Solar shareholders.
The transaction is expected to close in the next 60 to 90 days. The name of the combined company is planned to be changed to High Purity Quartz Technologies (HPQT).
Magnolia Solar has been developing high-efficiency flexible solar cells for defense and commercial applications. SSRG operates a research and test facility in Australia focused on validating its techniques of manufacturing high-purity quartz materials used in the semiconductor and solar sectors. SSRG's assets include the Lighthouse rock quartz mine in Australia.
‘High-purity quartz is experiencing an unprecedented global demand largely due to the expanded installation of solar farms for power generation worldwide," says Kevin Graham, director of SSRG." We are confident that the pending business combination with Magnolia Solar brings additional expertise in advanced solar energy technologies that will assist with SSRG's plans to establish a large-capacity [high-purity quartz] processing plant in the United States.’
