Friday, September 30, 2011

SpectraWatt, Former Oregon Startup, Sold In Fire Sale

SpectraWatt, a spinout of Intel which originally was headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon, has been sold for a mere $4.945M out of bankruptcy, according to auction firm Heritage Global partners. Spectrawatt, which was focused on manufacturing photovoltaic cells for the solar power market, had been headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon until April of 2009, when it moved to Hopewell Junction, New York. SpectraWatt had moved from Oregon to New York due to issues financing its factory in Oregon. According to Heritage Global, the firm's assets were acquired by Canadian Solar, Inc., pending approval by the US Bankruptcy Court. Spectrawatt was spun off from Intel in 2008, and had raised at least $91M in funding from such investors as Cogentrix Energy, Intel Capital, PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund, and Solon AG.