LOS ANGELES, October 14, 2010 – The international law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, led by Global Corporate Group partner Deborah Ruosch and associates Tom Paschall and Jan Nishizawa in Los Angeles and Global Corporate Group partner Darrel Holstein in New York and Tokyo, represented Sharp Corporation (“Sharp”), Japan's biggest manufacturer of solar panels, in an agreement to buy San Francisco-based Recurrent Energy, LLC (“Recurrent Energy”) for up to $305 million. Recurrent Energy, a US developer of distributed solar projects, will continue to operate as a subsidiary of Sharp. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of 2010 following receipt of required governmental approvals and third party consents.
“This deal is a culmination of Milbank’s Japan practice and renewable energy and M&A practice capabilities working together to facilitate a successful transaction,” commented Mr. Holstein. “We are excited to help Sharp capitalize on this market opportunity and strategically expand their business.”
Ms. Ruosch noted, “As the photovoltaic industry continues to grow, this transaction was significant for Sharp to expand its position as a production leader in solar cells and modules to a developer and operator of distributed solar power facilities.”
Recurrent has a project pipeline totaling approximately 2GW in the US and Canada, including a 50 megawatt solar power project with Southern California Edison. It has also announced projects and joint development agreements in Europe and the Middle East.
About Milbank
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP is a preeminent global law firm that for more than 140 years has provided innovative legal solutions in many of the world’s largest, most complex, “first-ever” corporate transactions and litigation. Our transactional expertise includes capital markets, corporate finance, project finance, acquisition finance and other major fields of law practice. Milbank litigation and arbitration teams resolve disputes involving mergers and acquisitions, proxy battles, financings and securities offerings, intellectual property, white collar crime, and corporate restructurings, among others. Our clients range from prominent multinational financial, industrial and commercial enterprises to governments, institutions and individuals. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Munich, São Paulo, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, DC.