Sky Solar Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SKYS)

HONG KONG, Dec. 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Solar Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ: SKYS) (“Sky Solar” or the “Company”), a global developer, owner and operator of solar parks, today announced that on November 22, 2019, the Supreme Court of the State of New York (the “Court”) ordered that Hudson’s motion for summary judgment is denied as moot in light of the stipulation of discontinuance without prejudice which was filed by Hudson and Sky Solar on November 14, 2019.

In February 2019, Hudson filed an action against the Company in the Court, seeking summary judgment in lieu of a complaint to, among other things, accelerate amounts allegedly due under a note purchase agreement and enforce certain guaranties related to the note purchase agreement against the Company. Sky Solar strongly denied all relevant claims alleged by Hudson and defended itself vigorously.

HONG KONG, Nov. 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Solar Holdings, Ltd. (SKYS) (“Sky Solar” or the “Company”), a global developer, owner and operator of solar parks, announced today that on November 5, 2019, it entered into a settlement agreement (the “Settlement Agreement”) with Hudson Solar Cayman, LP and its affiliates (collectively, “Hudson”), in connection with the lawsuit filed by Hudson against the Company earlier this year.

On February 8, 2019, Hudson filed an action against the Company in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, seeking summary judgment in lieu of a complaint to, among other things, accelerate amounts allegedly due under a note purchase agreement and enforce certain guaranties related to the note purchase agreement against the Company. The Company opposed Hudson’s allegations in the action.

The Settlement Agreement resolves the disputes in connection with the lawsuit. Under the settlement, Hudson agreed to dismiss its lawsuit and convert outstanding amounts of the notes issued to Hudson pursuant to the note purchase agreement into equity interests in certain project companies owned by Sky Solar in the United States, Uruguay, Chile, Czech Republic, and Japan. Sky Solar further agreed to Hudson’s purchasing additional equity interests in some of those project companies. These transactions will result in a net payment of approximately US$18 million to the Company, subject to certain working capital adjustments. Both parties also agreed to release each other from liabilities in connection with the Hudson lawsuit.

The Settlement Agreement remains subject to Hudson’s and the Company’s entering into further definitive documentation to close the debt-to-equity conversions and acquisitions agreed to in the Settlement Agreement. The parties have until December 16, 2019 to close the transactions under the Settlement Agreement.

HONG KONG, Oct. 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Solar Holdings, Ltd. (SKYS) (“Sky Solar” or the “Company”), a global developer, owner and operator of solar parks, today announced that it will change its American Depositary Share (“ADS”) to its ordinary share (“Ordinary Share”) ratio from one (1) ADS representing eight (8) Ordinary Shares (the “ADS Ratio Change”) to one (1) ADS representing twenty (20) Ordinary Shares. The Company anticipates that the ADS Ratio Change will be effective on November 8, 2019 (the “Effective Date”).

Following the Effective Date of the ADS Ratio Change, each ADS will represent twenty (20) Ordinary Shares. Holders of existing ADSs will be required to surrender their existing ADSs in exchange for new ADSs and will receive 0.4 new ADS for every 1 existing ADS surrendered to Citibank, N.A., the depositary of the Company’s ADR facility (the “Depositary”). No fractional ADSs will be issued in connection with the ADS Ratio Change and cash-in-lieu of fractional entitlements to ADSs will be distributed at a rate based upon the net proceeds from the sale of the aggregate of the fractional new ADSs.

HONG KONG, Sept. 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Solar Holdings, Ltd. (SKYS) (“Sky Solar” or the “Company”), a global developer, owner and operator of solar parks, announced today that on September 19, 2019, it received a letter from Nasdaq setting forth a determination to delist the Company’s ADSs from The Nasdaq Capital Market (the “Determination”) as a result of the Company’s inability to regain compliance with the minimum bid price continued listing requirement under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) within the time previously allotted by the Nasdaq staff (the “Staff”). The Determination stated that the Company’s ADSs will be delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market and that trading of the Company’s ADSs will be suspended at the opening of business on September 30, 2019, unless the Company requests an appeal of the Determination.

The Company intends to appeal this Determination by requesting a hearing before a hearings panel of Nasdaq (the “Panel”). A hearing request will stay the delisting of the Company’s ADSs pending the Panel’s decision. The hearing date will be determined by the Staff following the hearing request submission date. The Company plans to address the ongoing non-compliance matters before the Panel. There can be no assurance that, following the hearing, the Panel will grant the Company’s request for additional time to regain compliance with the Nasdaq continued listing requirements. If the Panel does not grant the Company’s request for additional time, the Company’s ADSs will be subject to delisting. If the Company’s ADSs are delisted from Nasdaq, they may be eligible to continue to be quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board or in the “pink sheets.” Many over-the-counter ADSs trade less frequently and in smaller volumes than ADSs traded on the Nasdaq markets, which would likely have a material adverse effect on the liquidity and value of the Company’s ADSs.

HONG KONG, March 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Solar Holdings, Ltd. (SKYS) (“Sky Solar” or the “Company”), a global developer, owner and operator of solar parks, today announced it received a letter from Nasdaq notifying the Company that it has been provided an additional 180 calendar day period, or until September 16, 2019, to regain compliance with the minimum $1 bid price per share requirement. The Company’s eligibility for the additional period was based on meeting the continued listing requirement for market value of publicly held shares and all other applicable requirements for initial listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market with the exception of the bid price requirement, and the Company’s written notice of its intention to cure the deficiency during the second compliance period by effecting an ADS ratio change, if necessary. If at any time during this additional time period the closing bid price of the Company’s security is at least $1 per share for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days, Nasdaq will provide written confirmation of compliance and this matter will be closed. If compliance cannot be demonstrated by September 16, 2019, Nasdaq will provide written notification that the Company’s securities will be delisted. At that time, the Company may appeal Nasdaq’s determination to a Hearings Panel.

HONG KONG, Jan. 28, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Solar Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ: SKYS) (“Sky Solar” or the “Company”), a global developer, owner and operator of solar parks, today announced the termination of Mr. Sanjay Shrestha from his position as the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, effective immediately. Ms. Julie Zhu has been named as the acting Chief Financial Officer of the Company, effective immediately.

HONG KONG, Dec. 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Solar Holdings, Ltd. (SKYS) (“Sky Solar” or the “Company”), a global developer, owner and operator of solar parks, today announced that it and its wholly-owned subsidiaries Sky Solar Japan Co., Ltd. (“SSJ”) and Sky International Enterprise Group Ltd. have entered into a TK interest purchase and sale agreement (the “Agreement”) with Solar Partnership Capital (“SPC”) and Conscious Partners KK.  The Agreement is related to the TK partnership established on August 28, 2015, when SSJ entered into a silent partnership agreement (the “TK Agreement”) with SPC to build and operate approximately 107 MW of solar projects in Japan.

Under the terms of the Agreement, Sky Solar made a payment of JPY 2 billion (US$18 million) to SPC upon the signing of the Agreement, and an additional JPY13.4 billion (US$121 million) will be paid on or before April 1, 2019, at which time SPC’s entire interest under the TK Agreement will be transferred to Sky Solar or any of its designated purchasers.  The TK interest purchase payment is guaranteed by Sky Solar and its subsidiaries.  In addition, on December 20, 2018, SPC withdrew the lawsuit it filed against SSJ on June 25, 2018, which alleged significant differences in the interpretation of certain terms of the silent partnership between SSJ and SPC, and purported to seek certain damages.

Furthermore, Sky Solar has the option to raise external financing by utilizing the projects under the TK Agreement, or it can initiate a process to sell the projects under the TK Agreement.  The proceeds from either of these transactions will be used to make the TK interest purchase payment.

Dr. Hao Wu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sky Solar, commented, “We believe the withdrawal of the litigation by SPC and the TK Interest Purchase and Sale Agreement should increase the confidence of Japanese financial institutions that have been following the developments in this matter, and could open up more project finance opportunities for SSJ’s projects in Japan.”

HONG KONG, Dec. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Solar Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ: SKYS) (“Sky Solar” or “the Company”), a global developer, owner and operator of solar parks, today announced its financial results for and as of the first six months ended June 30, 2018.

First Half 2018 Highlights

Revenue of $33.2 million, up 8.4% from 1H 2017
Electricity revenue of $31.5 million, up 12.9% from 1H 2017
Adjusted EBITDA of $34.2 million, compared to $18.5 million in 1H 2017
203.5 MW of IPP assets in operation as of June 30, 2018, compared to 196.7 MW as of December 31, 2017
The Company had 13.8MW of projects under construction as of June 30, 2018.
Business Updates

During the first half of 2018, the Company completed multiple strategic transactions including:

Sold rights of a 40.8MW project in Japan for $18.4 million. The Company continued to cooperate with a listing company in Japan, and invested JPY 529 million (USD 4.7 million) to this 40.8 MW project for 45% distribution of profit or loss. This project is expected to complete on October 2021.
During the first half year of 2018, 6.6 MW of projects are connected in Japan.
Secured construction and term financing for the 5.7MW project in the U.S., which reached substantial completion in July 2018.
Several material and ongoing events occurred subsequent to the first half of 2018. In July 2018, the Company’s silent partner in Japan filed a lawsuit against Sky Solar Japan, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.  The Company strongly believes that the lawsuit is without merit and has vigorously defended against it.  Meanwhile, the Company has also been working with the silent partner in an attempt to reach a potential resolution.

On August 31, 2018, the Company announced a change to its management team. The prior CFO left the Company and the current CIO assumed the responsibilities of CFO, replacing the prior CFO on the board of Sky Solar.

The Company has made meaningful progress in advancing development of its permits in Northeast US, with over 100MW under development.

The Management Committee of Sky Solar commented: “We continue to execute on our project completions and pipeline development in Japan and United States and see limited impact on our Japan business from the recent METI rule change.”

First Half 2018 Financial Results

Revenue was $33.2 million, up 8.4% from $30.6 million in the same period of 2017.

Electricity sales were $31.5 million in the first half of 2018, up 12.9% from $27.9 million in the same period of 2017. The period-over-period increase in electricity sales was primarily due to new connection of solar parks in Uruguay in the third quarter of 2017.

Systems and other sales were $1.7 million in the first half of 2018, down 37.3% from $2.7 million in the same period of 2017.  The period-over-period decrease in systems and other sales was primarily because there was a consulting service in Uruguay in the first half year in 2017, while there is no such service provided in the same period in 2018.

The following table shows the Company’s sequential and period-over-period change in revenue for each category, geographic region and period indicated.

HONG KONG, Oct. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Solar Holdings, Ltd. (SKYS) (“Sky Solar” or “the Company”), a global developer, owner and operator of solar parks, today announced that on September 18, 2018, it received notice from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange ("Nasdaq") that the Company did not meet the Nasdaq's price criteria for continued listing standard because the average closing price of the Company's American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, was less than $1.00 per ADS over a consecutive 30-trading-day period.

Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, the Company has six months following receipt of the notification to regain compliance with the minimum share price requirement. The Company can regain compliance at any time during the 180-day cure period if the Company's ADSs have a closing bid price of at least $1.00 for a minimum of ten consecutive business days.

The Company's ADSs will continue to be listed and traded on Nasdaq, subject to compliance with other Nasdaq’s continued listing standards and oversight by Nasdaq. Sky Solar is currently in compliance with all other Nasdaq’s quantitative continued listing standards. The Nasdaq notification does not affect the Company's business operations or its Securities and Exchange Commission reporting requirements.

HONG KONG, Sept. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Solar Holdings LTD, (SKYS), a global developer, owner and operator of solar parks, today announced that Solar Partnership Capital Ltd., in July 2018, filed a lawsuit against the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Sky Solar Japan Co., Ltd. ("SSJ").

On August 28, 2015, Sky Solar Japan Co., Ltd. (“SSJ”) entered into a silent partnership agreement (Tokumei Kumiai Keiyaku) with Solar Partnership Capital Ltd. (the “TK Partner”) to build and operate approximately 107 MW of solar projects in Japan.

The lawsuit alleges that there are significant differences in the understandings of the silent partnership between SSJ and the TK Partner, and purports to seek certain damages.  The Company strongly believes that the lawsuit is without merit and intends to vigorously defend against it.  Meanwhile, the Company has been working cooperatively with the TK Partner in an attempt to reach a potential resolution.  All TK operating power-generation facilities are in operation and SSJ continues to manage the TK assets.

HONG KONG, Aug. 31, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Solar Holdings LTD, (SKYS), a global developer, owner and operator of solar parks, today announced that its Chief Financial Officer Andrew Wang will be leaving the Company to pursue other opportunities.  Mr. Wang served as Chief Financial Officer for the past seven years, and will remain as an advisor with the Company for several more weeks to ensure a smooth transition.

The current Chief Investment Officer Sanjay Shrestha will assume the responsibilities of Chief Financial Officer and will replace Mr. Wang on the board of Sky Solar Holdings.

In addition, the office of the Chief Financial Officer is being strengthened by the creation of a new position of Corporate Treasurer, which is intended to enhance the management of balance sheet, cash flows, and deployment across various regions.  Mr. Aditya Satghare, currently Vice President of Sky Capital, will assume this new role. Mr. Satghare’s responsibilities will further expand to lead the project financing efforts for the entire company and to work closely with all regional finance and investment teams.

Sky Solar’s Board of Directors made this statement: “We wish Andrew all the best in his future endeavors and thank him for his years of service with the company.  We are pleased to welcome Sanjay as Chief Financial Officer, and believe that his extensive experience in the industry and within the company will significantly enhance our execution capabilities in our two key regions of Japan and the Americas.”

HONG KONG, March 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Solar Holdings, Ltd. (SKYS) (“Sky Solar” or the “Company”), a global developer, owner and operator of solar parks, today announced that it entered into a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”) with two wholly-owned subsidiaries of Shenzhen Kaifa Technology Co., Ltd. (SHE:000021) (“Shenzhen Kaifa”), a Shenzhen-based electronics manufacturing service provider, to develop a 1.7 MW rooftop solar project in Suzhou, China. This will be Sky Solar’s first distributed generation project in China.

Pursuant to the PPA, Sky Solar China will be the independent power producer that develops, owns, and operates the project. Upon completion, Shenzhen Kaifa will purchase more than 85% of the electricity generated from the project, with the balance being sold to the State Grid. The project is anticipated to be completed before year-end.

Mr. Wen Qian, President of Sky Solar China, commented, “We are excited to announce our first rooftop solar distributed generation project in China. This is an attractive opportunity for us, because the PPA price is locked in for 25 years with a potential unlevered IRR in the low- to mid-teens.”

Dr. Hao Wu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sky Solar, commented, “This project demonstrates the attractiveness of the rooftop DG market in China. We are optimistic about our prospects in China for distributed generation, due to our successful track record of solar project development and operation on a global basis. We look forward to finding more attractive opportunities in China.”

HONG KONG, Sept. 28, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Solar Holdings, Ltd. (SKYS) (“Sky Solar” or “the Company”), a global developer, owner and operator of solar parks, today announced its financial results for the first six months ended June 30, 2017.

First Half 2017 Highlights

• Revenue of $30.6 million, up 6.6% from 1H 2016.
• Basic and diluted income per share was $0.012 in the first half of 2017, compared to basic and diluted loss per share of $0.006 in the same period in 2016.
• Basic and diluted income per ADS in the first half of 2017 was $0.10 compared to basic and diluted loss per ADS of $0.05 in the same period in 2016.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $18.5 million, up 32.4% from $14.0 million in the same period in 2016.

Mr. Hao Wu, Chairman of Sky Solar, commented, “We accomplished a tremendous amount of progress in the first half of the year, despite leadership changes.  Our revenue and adjusted EBITDA increased substantially, and continued to develop more of our pipeline.  Our pipeline under construction now is over 50% of our operating assets, setting us up for meaningful growth in the months ahead.”

Mr. Sanjay Shrestha, Chief Investment Officer of Sky Solar, and President of Sky Capital America commented, “We are pleased to have recently connected the 63.6MW of projects in Uruguay, which are now generating power and revenue.  During the first half and subsequently, we signed Letters of Intent (“LOIs”) and Share Purchase Agreements (“SPAs”) to secure a total of 40 MW of Distributed Generation (“DG”) project permits in Chile.  We also continued to gradually expand our presence in the US.

HONG KONG, Sept. 19, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Solar Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SKYS) (“Sky Solar” or the “Company”), a global developer, owner and operator of solar parks, today announced that the independent committee of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Independent Committee”) had concluded the investigation (the “Investigation”) into conduct of Mr. Weili Su, the Company’s former Chief Executive Officer and former Chairman of the Board of Directors.  As announced on June 16, 2017, the Independent Committee comprises independent directors Mr. Qiang Zhan and Mr. Xuelong Pei, and the Investigation involved certain transactions and fund transfers that had appeared to lack proper board and audit committee authorization. As announced on June 28, 2017, the Independent Committee engaged DaHui Lawyers to carry out the Investigation.

Based on their review of documents and interviews of certain current and former employees, officers and directors of the Company, DaHui Lawyers concluded that certain transactions and fund transfers between the Company and certain entities controlled by Mr. Su were not approved by the board or the audit committee.  In addition, there was insufficient documentary support of such fund transfers.

On September 19, 2017, the Company entered into a settlement agreement with Mr. Su to resolve all potential claims by the Company against Mr. Su and certain entities controlled by him concerning the fund transfers, as well as all potential claims that Mr. Su and such entities may have against the Company in connection with Mr. Su’s employment at the Company.  Under this agreement, various debt assignment agreements signed among the Company, certain third parties, and certain entities controlled by Mr. Su  in April 2017 shall have no effect and be rescinded immediately; and Mr. Su agrees to pay back to the Company approximately US$15 million and failing this, authorize the Company to sell on behalf of him and /or transfer to the Company the American depositary shares that he holds in the Company to pay for such settlement amount.

HONG KONG, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Solar Holdings, Ltd. (SKYS) (“Sky Solar” or “the Company”), a global developer, owner and operator of solar parks, today announced that it expects to establish a committee consisting of independent directors in the next two to three days to investigate the conduct of its former Chief Executive Officer Mr. Weili Su.  The conduct subject to the investigation involved certain transactions and fund transfers which appear to lack proper board and audit committee authorizations.  The Company is evaluating the potential impact of these transactions and fund transfers.  Based on the Company’s articles of associations, Mr. Su remains as a director of the Company until the earlier of the adoption of an ordinary resolution in a shareholders meeting to remove him from the director position, or the expiration of his term at the Company’s 2018 annual shareholders meeting unless he is re-elected at such meeting.

On June 6, 2017, a notice was given by Mr. Weili Su, the then chairman of the Company’s board of directors, to convene an extraordinary shareholders meeting on June 19, 2017.  On June 7, 2017, Mr. Su gave a supplemental notice to further clarify the meeting agenda specified in the June 6, 2017 notice of extraordinary shareholders meeting.  The Company was advised by its Cayman counsel that Mr. Su duly convened an extraordinary shareholders meeting, which shall be held at the venue and time specified in the June 6, 2017 notice.  However, the Company was advised by its depositary bank that the June 19, 2017 meeting date gives insufficient time to properly notify all ADS holders and collect their voting instructions.  Accordingly, as authorized under the articles of association of the Company, the chairman of the board of directors, presiding as chairman of the extraordinary shareholders meeting to be held on June 19, 2017, intends to adjourn the meeting as soon as it commences with no business conducted, and to reconvene the meeting at the same venue and same time on July 28, 2017 with the meeting agenda specified in the June 6, 2017 meeting notice as supplemented from time to time, provided that any supplemental notice shall be in accordance with the Company’s articles of association and allow for a notice period that provides ADS holders sufficient time to issue and deliver their voting instructions to the depositary.  The record date for the aforementioned EGM will be July 6, 2017.

HONG KONG, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Solar Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SKYS) (“Sky Solar” or “the Company”), a global developer, owner and operator of solar parks, today announced that it expects to establish a committee consisting of independent directors in the next two to three days to investigate the conduct of its former Chief Executive Officer Mr. Weili Su.  The conduct subject to the investigation involved certain transactions and fund transfers which appear to lack proper board and audit committee authorizations.  The Company is evaluating the potential impact of these transactions and fund transfers.  Based on the Company’s articles of associations, Mr. Su remains as a director of the Company until the earlier of the adoption of an ordinary resolution in a shareholders meeting to remove him from the director position, or the expiration of his term at the Company’s 2018 annual shareholders meeting unless he is re-elected at such meeting.

On June 6, 2017, a notice was given by Mr. Weili Su, the then chairman of the Company’s board of directors, to convene an extraordinary shareholders meeting on June 19, 2017.  On June 7, 2017, Mr. Su gave a supplemental notice to further clarify the meeting agenda specified in the June 6, 2017 notice of extraordinary shareholders meeting.  The Company was advised by its Cayman counsel that Mr. Su duly convened an extraordinary shareholders meeting, which shall be held at the venue and time specified in the June 6, 2017 notice.  However, the Company was advised by its depositary bank that the June 19, 2017 meeting date gives insufficient time to properly notify all ADS holders and collect their voting instructions.  Accordingly, as authorized under the articles of association of the Company, the chairman of the board of directors, presiding as chairman of the extraordinary shareholders meeting to be held on June 19, 2017, intends to adjourn the meeting as soon as it commences with no business conducted, and to reconvene the meeting at the same venue and same time on July 28, 2017 with the meeting agenda specified in the June 6, 2017 meeting notice as supplemented from time to time, provided that any supplemental notice shall be in accordance with the Company’s articles of association and allow for a notice period that provides ADS holders sufficient time to issue and deliver their voting instructions to the depositary.  The record date for the aforementioned EGM will be July 6, 2017.

HONG KONG, May 22, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Solar Holdings, Ltd. (SKYS) (“Sky Solar” or the “Company”), a global developer, owner and operator of solar parks, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sky Capital America Inc. (“Sky Capital America”), has made a strategic investment in AmberWave Inc. (“AmberWave”), a silicon-based Building Integrated Photovoltaic (“BIPV”) technology company.  As a part of this investment, Sky Capital America will exclusively provide a broad range of services for the first 250 MW of deployments of AmberWave BIPV technology.  The services include project financing, system design, engineering, procurement and construction management and operations and maintenance services.  In addition, Mr. Sanjay Shrestha, President of Sky Capital America, will join the AmberWave Board of Directors.

“Sky Capital America is pleased to make this strategic investment in what we believe to be a game-changing, silicon-based BIPV technology.  We see a vast market in its main application in commercial and industrial steel rooftops,” commented Mr. Shrestha.  “We view this as a strategic step to expand our pipeline in what we see as a next frontier of growth in the US PV market.”

“We are delighted to be partnering with Sky Capital America and to have Mr. Shrestha join our Board of Directors,” said Dr. Anthony Lochtefeld, CEO of AmberWave.  “We believe Sky Capital America’s investment reflects its confidence that ultra-thin flexible silicon solar cells hold great promise for metal rooftops and unmanned aerial vehicles.”

TEANECK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Hudson Clean Energy Partners (“Hudson”), a leading private equity firm specializing in renewable energy, and Sky Solar Holdings, Ltd. (SKYS) (“Sky Solar” or the “Company”), a global developer, owner, and operator of solar parks, announced a new solar project partnership to acquire, construct, and own utility scale and commercial and industrial projects in the United States. This expansion of the organizations’ 2015 collaboration in Latin America and Japan will make use of the existing capital commitment of up to $100 million from Hudson.

The first asset in the joint venture is a 22 MW, 23-project portfolio of operating commercial and small utility-scale solar PV projects that sell power to businesses, municipalities and utilities located in California and Massachusetts. The majority of these projects, which were acquired from a third party, came online in 2012 and have remaining power purchase agreement terms of more than 15 years on average. Hudson and Sky Solar are also partnering to construct and jointly own 82 MW of utility solar projects in Uruguay, which are expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2017.

“Extending our reach into the North American market is a logical next step for our organizations as we seek to build a stable portfolio of renewable projects in key markets around the world,” said Neil Z. Auerbach, founder and managing partner of Hudson. “We will continue to pursue attractive investments in lucrative regions and anticipate a fruitful, long-term collaboration with Sky Solar.”

“Our strategic partnership with Hudson will only grow stronger as we continue to expand to the North American market,” said Sanjay Shrestha, chief investment officer of Sky Solar and president of Sky Capital Americas. “We look forward to building on our success and expanding access to renewable energy across the globe.”

Second Quarter 2016 Financial Results

• Revenue was $17.0 million, up 34.6% from $12.6 million in the same period of 2015.
• Basic and diluted loss per share was $0.004 compared to earnings per share of $0.02 in the same period in 2015. Basic and diluted loss per ADS were $0.03 compared to earnings per share of $0.18 in the same period i

Mr. Sanjay Shrestha, Chief Investment Officer of Sky Solar, and President of Sky Capital America commented, “As Mr. Su highlighted, we are pursuing opportunities in the U.S. and continue to remain disciplined with our investment return metrics. In addition to the recent acquisition of operating solar parks in the United States, we aim to enter into definitive agreements to acquire additional PV development pipeline in the U.S. within the third quarter of 2016. This is in addition to the 22.5 MW development stage permits in the U.S. that we acquired last month. We also expanded our partnership with Hudson to be a strategic financial partner for opportunities in the U.S. as well as in Latin America and we are in discussion with other potential strategic partners to expand our presence in key target markets. Our strategic objective remains on reducing our cost of capital and focus on owning or developing renewable assets with higher returns on capital. We look forward to reporting on our progress throughout the fiscal year.”

HONG KONG, Aug. 17, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Solar Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SKYS) (“Sky Solar” or the “Company”), a global developer, owner and operator of solar parks, today announced that the Company entered into a Letter of Intent with Solar Partnership Capital Ltd (“Solar Partnership” or “SPC”),  a non-affiliate of the Company in certain Japanese projects, pursuant to which Solar Partnership confirmed its intention to acquire interests it currently does not own in 152 MW of solar projects from Sky Solar Japan K.K. (“SSJ”) and to take on certain specified liabilities associated with respect to those projects (the “Transaction Assets”) for a total  purchase price of JPY17 billion (approximately $US165 million), subject to certain standard closing adjustments. All the other assets and liabilities of SSJ that do not constitute Transaction Assets will be transferred to a new entity. 

The proceeds from the transaction are expected to be used to repay certain existing loans that were provided as part of SPC’s existing tokumei kumiai investment in SSJ, as well as to invest in selected opportunities in Japan and other key target markets.

Closing of the transaction is subject to approval by Solar Partnership’s investment committee, completion of satisfactory due diligence and mutual agreement and execution of definitive documents. The Letter of Intent terminates on August 31, 2016 but it may be extended by mutual consent. Both parties are working diligently to satisfy the conditions as quickly as possible.

Mr. Sanjay Shrestha, Chief Investment Officer of Sky Solar, and President of Sky Capital America commented, “We are very pleased to announce the potential sale of part of our solar asset portfolio in Japan. Through this transaction, we remain committed to the development of our remaining projects in Japan while also unlocking value from our 74 MW of completed solar projects and 78 MW of solar projects that have not yet been completed in Japan.  With the cash proceeds from this deal, we intend to further invest in solar development projects in Japan and other key target markets that meet our investment return criteria.”