SunPower files for bankruptcy, to sell some $45 million assets via stalking horse bid

(Reuters) – Solar firm SunPower (NASDAQ:) said on Monday it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States and entered into a ‘stalking horse’ agreement with Complete Solaria to sell some of its business for $45 million in cash.

A stalking horse bid is used as a starting or minimally accepted offer that other interested bidders must surpass if they want to buy the asset or the company.

California-based Complete Solaria, a solar technology, services, and installation company will acquire SunPower’s Blue Raven (NASDAQ:) Solar business, New Homes business, and non-installing Dealer network.

SunPower had acquired Blue Raven for $165 million in 2021.

The company listed its assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion, in a filing with the bankruptcy court in Delaware, court papers filed on Monday showed.

Additionally, SunPower said it intends to continue a sale process for its remaining assets. The California-headquartered company said that following the sale process it plans to liquidate any remaining assets and undergo an efficient wind down of its operations.

Earlier this year, SunPower said it planned to reduce its workforce by about 1,000 people and planned to wind down its SunPower Residential Installation locations and close SunPower Direct sales.