A unit of Shunfeng has placed a bid to acquire undisclosed equity assets held by Wuxi Suntech and a 500m yuan ($81.7m) deposit has been paid, said a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Shunfeng said it hopes the acquisition will strengthen its PV cell and module manufacturing operations, so it can expand into the construction and development of utility-scale solar plants.

Shunfeng, also based in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, plans to fund the potential acquisition by debt, raising fresh capital or drawing upon its internal resources, it added.

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