SunEdison Restrained from 'Unusual' Asset Transfers
Solar company SunEdison Inc said a U.S. court has restrained the company from making any unusual asset transfers until a hearing in a lawsuit brought on by investors of renewable energy company Latin American Power. SunEdison's shares fell as much as 33 percent to $1.37, hitting its lowest in more than 14 years. SunEdison said in October that it terminated a deal for Latin American Power five months after agreeing to buy the company, which owns wind and hydropower projects in Chile and Peru. The restraining order also affects SunEdison's yieldco TerraForm Power, SunEdison spokesman Ben Harborne said on Friday. "The judge's order will remain in place pending a hearing on Feb. 25 and does not affect either company's ability to conduct normal business operations," Harborne said in an email.
Hedge Funds' Big Bets on Energy Companies Pummeled
Some of the hedge fund industry's most respected firms made bigger bets on a wide swatch of energy companies during the third quarter only to watch the stocks get pummeled by falling crude oil prices. Robert Citrone's Discovery Capital Management raised its holding in Texas oil driller Diamondback Energy by 20 percent to own 1.4 million shares at the end of the third quarter, according to a regulatory filing made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Diamondback's stock price fell 16 percent over the quarter. The fund manager also raised its bet on oil and gas exploration and production company Cimarex Energy by 37 percent. The stock dropped 11 percent over the quarter.
SunEdison May Be Too Reliant On Renewable Tax Credits-Barron's
Solar power company SunEdison Inc shares have climbed over the past two years on hopes of forming a separate yield company, or "yieldco," but may be too reliant on renewable energy tax subsidies, according to an article in the May 5 edition of Barron's. Officials at SunEdison were not immediately available for comment. SunEdison's shares have climbed from $1.50 in 2012 to over $20, which is over 50 times the most optimistic Wall Street cash flow forecast for next year, the article said. The yieldco would be a publicly-held subsidiary that would own SunEdison's finished solar projects and pay out most of the projects' cash flow, tax-free, thanks to tax breaks available to owners of renewable power plants, Barron's said.
