The agreement comes eight months after Gao tabled an offer to take the company back into private hands, since when the proposal has been under scrutiny by a special committee appointed by the company’s board.
The $11.60 per share all-cash deal offers a premium of 40% to Trina’s closing share price on Friday and 21% on the level before the original offer was made, Trina said.
The company’s shares spiked 27% to $10.46 in early trading in New York today following the announcement.
The Chinese PV giant said it expects to close the transaction in early 2017, subject to shareholder approval.
The investor consortium led by Gao also includes various Chinese financial institutions, including Shanghai Xingsheng Equity Investment & Management Co.
Trina shipped a market-leading 5.74GW of modules in 2015 and expects to see up to 6.5GW this year, as well as continuing its downstream project expansion.
The deal represents the highest profile example yet in the solar industry of the trend among Chinese companies to de-list from Western exchanges for private ownership at home.
Compatriot JA Solar was last year subject to a similar offer from its CEO, while wind OEM Ming Yang completed its own exit from the NYSE in June.
