Trina Solar Ltd. fell the most in more than 10 months as shareholders prepare to vote on a $1.1 billion deal to take the company private. Trina declined 8.4 percent to $9.18 at the close in New York, the most since Jan. 15. The company, the world’s largest solar manufacturer by shipments in 2015, scheduled a Dec. 16 shareholder vote on the offer from a group led by Trina’s chairman and founder Jifan Gao, to pay $11.60 for each American depositary receipt. The ADRs have traded between $10 and $11 since details of the deal were announced Aug. 1. Analysts had mixed views on the reasons for the decline, and speculation ranged from concerns about the buyout to broader pessimism about future prospects for solar companies after Donald Trump becomes U.S. president in January.
“If there is some sort of expectation this deal could fall apart, that could explain” the slump, Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov said Monday.
Jeffrey Osborne, an analyst who follows Trina for Cowen & Co., said Gao clearly detailed the all-cash buyout offer, including naming investors. So it’s unclear why investors would be pessimistic. The selloff may stem from concerns after Trina didn’t hold a conference call for its third-quarter earnings that were released Nov. 23, Osborne said. Or it may reflect broader worries about the prospects for clean energy under Trump, he said.
