Tempe, AZ - First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) won’t be building any solar panels in Mesa after all , the company has agreed to sell the facility in Mesa, to an unidentified buyer at a loss of as much as $60 million against book value and move 80 jobs to its main office in Tempe.
The $300 million plant, which was to make First Solar thin-film panels destined for power plants in the Southwest, was announced in 2011 and had the promise of employing 600 people.
The company expects proceeds of more than $100 million from the sale, which will close this quarter, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing today from the Tempe, Arizona-based company. The site was intended to be a panel-production plant and was never commissioned.
The company expects the sale to close in the fourth quarter, and it will book a loss of between $55 million and $60 million in third quarter as a result of the sale. Another $5 million to $10 million in costs will be incurred for moving people.
First Solar spokesman Steve Krum said the company could not identify the buyer until it closes, which could be in the next 40- 60 days. The buyer is expected to use the facility for clean high-tech manufacturing.