Bosch Group To Buy Inverter Subsidiary From Conergy

Conergy is about to sell its inverter subsidiary voltwerk electronics GmbH to the Bosch Group, which has its headquarters in Stuttgart. The relevant contract has been signed by the two parties, with the purchase price being kept confidential by mutual agreement. The acquisition is subject to approval by the anti-trust authorities. With a workforce of around 100, voltwerk electronics achieved sales of 68 million euros in 2010. Its product portfolio includes string and central inverters for photovoltaic plants as well as monitoring systems and storage solutions.        

 

Conergy's Chief Operating Officer Alexander Gorski says: "Over the last few years, a small, but very competent team at voltwerk electronics has developed a portfolio of innovative, efficient and high-quality products. We are very pleased to have found a highly respected and strong investor and partner in Bosch, who will develop the business of voltwerk further and drive it forward on this basis."     

By concluding a long-term supply contract, Conergy is ensuring that it will also have access to the premium inverter range in the future so that the system supplier continues to offer its customers complete solar solutions from a single source. For Conergy, the sale of voltwerk electronics represents an important step in its strategic reorientation: "In line with our system supplier strategy, we are systematically reducing our own manufacturing depth and focusing Conergy on its international sales activities and on the servicing business, which will become increasingly important in future. After the restructuring of our own module manufacture initiated at the end of November, a further important step in reshaping the company has now been taken with this deal."

 For Bosch, the planned acquisition is important in terms of expanding its involvement in the areas of e-mobility and renewable energies. "With voltwerk electronics Bosch is entering the inverter market, offering a broad product spectrum ranging from 3 kW string inverters to 1,400 kW central inverters," says Dr Volkmar Denner, Member of the Bosch Board of Management with responsibility for research and advance development. The intention is for voltwerk electronics to be integrated into Bosch Power Tec GmbH, which was founded last January and which is driving the inverter business forward within the Bosch Group and developing new generations of devices.