Billion Electric announces NTD $0.53 Billion Equity Investment and Joins Forces with Sino-American Silicon Products to Deploy Energy Storage and Electrification of Vehicles.
2023 Mar 14
Billion Electric Co. Ltd (Billion/TSE: 3027), a prominent power electronics and network communication technology provider, announces today that it will issue 15,000,000 Common shares with a private placement priced at NTD $35.32/per share led by Sino-American Silicon Products Inc. (SAS /TSE: 5483). SAS resolves to participate 100% in the private placement and will hold 13.08% of the equity after the capital increase, enabling SAS to become the largest corporate major shareholder of Billion Electric. Both companies passed the board resolution with a total fundraising amount of NTD $0.5298 billion on March 14th.
Since the company's inception in 1973, Billion Electric started out as a professional manufacturer of power transformers. By combining power electronics with network communication technology, the group has been committed to developing ICT solutions, network communication equipment and Internet access devices, R&D, manufacturing, and brand sales. In recent years, the Billion group actively supports the global transition to renewable energy by providing technological solutions ranging from PV inverters and monitoring software to energy storage integration to the electrification of marine and land transportation. Through this private placement, SAS was introduced as a strategic equity investor to strengthen vertical integration, improve product development efficiency, and expand energy investment through working capital enhancement.
Addressing the global net zero and decarbonization trend, the Taiwanese government initiated the "Net Zero Pathway" that aims to achieve zero emissions by 2050. The Taiwanese government implements 12 critical strategies to transition energy, industrial, lifestyle, and social sectors to clean energy, including wind, solar, hydrogen, energy storage, and electric vehicles. SAS and Billion Electric will work together to develop the energy storage equipment required to stabilize inconsistencies of renewable energy, aligning with the national objective: to increase the energy storage capacity to 5.5 GW by 2030. Moreover, the critical strategies include 100% of car and scooter sales being electric in 2040 and renewable electricity accounting for more than 60% of national demand in 2050. The goal is to reinforce energy self-sufficiency and power system resilience and establish a reliable energy foundation for the growth of Taiwan's economy and manufacturing.
In 2017, Billion Electric reinvested and founded Billion Watts Technologies, which has successfully commissioned nearly 1,300 solar power plants in Taiwan, and it officially set foot in energy storage system integration by providing customers a one-stop service including site development, design planning, engineering, procurement, construction, system integration, maintenance, bidding, and project investment in 2021. The Billion group further invested in VGwatt, a solution provider of ground-mounted solar PV 1500V inverters and commercial energy storage products and held 51% of its shares. Regarding the outline for transportation electrification, the Billion group will launch a land-based, community scales AC charging system for electric vehicles. At the same time, the group has further expanded its influence in the marine and shipping industries in Taiwan, Asia, and other regions through a channel partner agreement with the Canadian energy solution provider Shift Clean Energy. Together, the two companies will work on electrifying boat batteries through the PwrSwäp battery exchange technology. This move is also an essential step for Taiwan driving the marine industry toward a net-zero future.
On the other hand, SAS has vertically integrated into the solar energy supply chain, expanding the business operations from simply providing the materials to managing and maintaining solar PV power plants. Furthermore, SAS has stepped into green energy developing and trading to augment its business scope of renewable energy. Its subsidiary investment companies span clean energy and semiconductors. In addition to the profitability and technical strength, SAS's investment in 5.54% of NextDrive Technology has become one of the rising stars in the smart grid and energy IoT platform. The main reasons for SAS's investment of NTD $0.5298 billion in Billion Electric's private equity placement are as follows: 1) Billion Electric has unique information and communication technological background combined with solar and energy storage sectors. The company has shown steady growth in annual revenue and profitability through the firm commitment to developing renewable energy-related products and expanding its customer base. SAS considers the private placement an opportunity to strengthen its green energy solution business; 2) Billion Electric has entered the electric vehicle charging and battery exchange equipment for electrified transportation. This development direction complements the compound semiconductor business that SAS has actively deployed. Through this investment in Billion Electric, SAS will expand into energy storage, micro-grid integration, and electrification of vehicles, with the primary goal to extend from "Energy Provider" to "Energy Solution Provider," further deepening its footprint in the green energy industry.
About Sino-American Silicon Products Inc.
Headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, SAS is a green energy total solution provider with vertical integration in solar industry, from cell, module, power plant and O&M (Operation & Maintenance). Its semiconductor subsidiary, GlobalWafers is one of the top three largest silicon wafer manufacturers in the world. Specializing in silicon wafer manufacturing, product applications extend through power management, automotive, IT and MEMS. Both are listed on the TaipeiExchange. For more information, please visit www.saswafer.com for SAS and www.sas-globalwafers.com for GWC.
Deputy General Manager of Enterprise Development
Email: CWLee@sas-globalwafers.com
Deputy Spokesperson：Jennifer Chen
Website：http://www.saswafer.com
About Billion Electric Co., Ltd.
Headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, Billion Electric Group is a leading network communication equipment and ICT solutions provider. Its subsidiaries provide power supplies, power converters, solar PV inverters, transportation electrification, and energy storage equipment. In the past 50 years, the group established a global business development roadmap. It cooperated with distributors, system integrators, and service providers in various countries to provide comprehensive communication and energy products and drive cross-industry technology digitization and industrial transformation. We continue to deliver innovative solutions as the purpose of business operations. Today, shouldering the responsibility of maintaining the environment, society, and governance, our employees act as global citizens committed to researching and developing cutting-edge technologies to halt global warming. For more information, please visit www.billion.com for Billion Electric.
Spokesperson：Elsa Chang
Chief Financial Officer
Tel：02-2914-5665 EXT:330
Email：elsachang@billion.com
