• Meyer Burger Technology Ltd (SIX: MBTN, “Meyer Burger” or the “Company”) today announces the launch of concurrent non-public offerings to professional investors of up to 160 million newly issued registered shares with a nominal value of CHF 0.05 per share (the “New Shares”) and approx. EUR 125 million green senior unsecured guaranteed convertible bonds due 2027 (the “Bonds”).
• The Bonds will be issued via the Company’s German subsidiary MBT Systems GmbH (the “Issuer”), guaranteed by Meyer Burger and convertible into shares of Meyer Burger.

Following the opening of its cell factory in Thalheim (city of Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany) and the module factory in Freiberg (Saxony, Germany), the proceeds from the offerings will provide Meyer Burger with additional financial flexibility to accelerate its ongoing transformation to a leading European manufacturer of solar cells and solar modules. Meyer Burger intends to use the net proceeds from the issue of the New Shares to finance and/or refinance new investments and the net proceeds from the issue of the Bonds to finance and/or refinance new investments in Eligible Green Projects as defined by Meyer Burger’s Green Financing Framework.

Recently Meyer Burger secured a financing package with a syndicated loan agreement for EUR 125 million and a factoring agreement for EUR 60 million to accelerate the manufacturing capacity expansion with a balanced 1.4 GW of cell and module production capacity already by the end of 2022, thereby closing the previously envisaged gap between module and cell capacity. Meyer Burger will process the entire cell production into modules itself and not sell its HJT solar cells to third parties as previously planned. The company intends to make a final decision on the specific location of the second solar module factory in the third quarter of 2021. The company intends to design the new module plant for producing utility modules but with the flexibility to also produce rooftop modules in line with market demand.

The syndicated loan agreement obligates Meyer Burger to raise additional financing in the amount of EUR 100 million. With the private placement for professional investors, Meyer Burger intends to secure sufficient equity capital for accelerating the next growth phase including the entry into the utility-scale segment. Strengthening the equity base enables Meyer Burger to address customers’ utility projects with a long lead-time. As communicated previously, to realize the growth targets of the second phase, another EUR 260 million (CHF 286 million) in financing is required in addition to the EUR 185 million debt financing.

The Issuer and Meyer Burger have agreed to a 180-day lock-up period after the listing of the New Shares and the issuance of the Bonds, subject to waiver by the syndicate banks and customary exceptions.

Share Placement
Meyer Burger is launching the private placement to professional investors of up to 160 million New Shares. The New Shares will be sourced from existing authorized capital excluding the existing shareholders’ pre-emptive rights. The issue price will be determined via an accelerated bookbuilding process, and the New Shares will be offered exclusively to professional investors in Switzerland (via a private placement) as well as outside of Switzerland and the United States to institutional investors (in reliance on Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933) and in the United States to qualified institutional buyers (in reliance on Rule 144A under the U.S. Securities Act) (the “Share Placement”). The bookbuilding will start immediately and may close at any time on short notice. The results of the Share Placement, including the number of New Shares placed and the offer price of the New Shares, will be announced upon completion of the bookbuilding procedure, which is expected prior to market opening on July 1, 2021.

The New Shares are expected to be listed and admitted to trading according to the Swiss Reporting Standard on SIX Swiss Exchange on July 5, 2021. Payment and settlement are expected to take place on the same date on or around July 5, 2021. The New Shares will rank pari passu with the Company’s existing shares.

Green Convertible Bonds
Meyer Burger is launching a private placement to professional investors of Bonds with an aggregate principal amount of approx. EUR 125 million that will be issued by the Issuer and guaranteed by the Company. The Bonds will be issued with a denomination of EUR 100,000 per Bond at 100% of their principal amount and are expected to carry a coupon between 2.75% and 3.25% per annum, payable semi-annually in arrears. Unless previously converted or repurchased and cancelled, the Bonds will be redeemed at 100% of their principal amount on July 8, 2027. The Bonds will be convertible into registered shares of Meyer Burger, sourced from shares to be newly issued from conditional share capital excluding the existing shareholders’ advance subscription rights, at an initial price expected to be set at a conversion premium between 25% and 30% over the reference share price. The reference share price is expected to be equal to the offer price determined in the concurrent placement of New Shares translated into EUR using the EUR: CHF foreign exchange rate at the time of pricing.

Meyer Burger will be entitled to redeem the Bonds at their principal amount plus accrued interest in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Bonds at any time (i) on or after 2025, if the price of a Meyer Burger share is equal to or exceeds 130% of the then prevailing conversion price over a certain period or (ii) if less than 15% of the aggregate principal amount of the Bonds remain outstanding.

The offering of the Bonds will be conducted as a private placement in and outside of Switzerland. The Bonds will be offered to investors outside the US (in reliance on Regulation S under the US Securities Act of 1933), as amended, and in compliance with the laws and regulations applicable in every country where the offering takes place.

The Bonds are expected to price prior to market opening on July 1, 2021. The settlement date of the Bonds is expected to be on or around July 8, 2021. The Bonds will not be listed or admitted to trading on the SIX Swiss Exchange or any other trading venue and no application has been made to list or admit the bonds to trading. Application for the listing and trading of the Bonds may be made at a later stage.

Meyer Burger Green Financing Framework
For over 20 years, Meyer Burger has been a pioneer in the development of photovoltaics along the entire value chain. The company is pursuing a vision of emission-free energy generation from sunlight and with a team passionate about contributing to a new era of energy. Meyer Burger’s Green Financing Framework mainly covers projects related to the manufacture of products and key components that are essential for renewable energy technologies (solar PV panels). In alignment with its legacy and its vision, Meyer Burger released today its Green Financing Framework (the “Framework”), which was established in accordance with the ICMA 2018 Green Bond Principles and LMA/PLMA 2020 Green Loan Principles as well as the EU Taxonomy to reinforce its sector leadership on sustainable matters. ISS ESG provided a Second Party Opinion on the Framework.

The proceeds of the Bonds will be used in compliance with the Framework. As both the Green Bond Principles, Green Loan Principles and the green financing market overall, as well as the EU Taxonomy, are evolving rapidly, this Framework may be updated or expanded in the future. Any future updated versions of this Framework will either keep or increase the current levels of transparency and reporting disclosures. The external review of the Framework by ISS, as Second Party Opinion provider, is available, together with the Framework, on the Company’s web site.

Concurrent Offering of Existing Shares by the Company
Concurrently with the offering of Bonds and New Shares, the joint bookrunners have been mandated by Meyer Burger to facilitate hedging for certain subscribers of the Bonds and to organize a simultaneous placement of existing shares of the Company on behalf of certain subscribers of the Bonds. These shares will be part of the Share Placement. The Company will not receive any proceeds from the placement of these existing shares.

Meyer Burger Technology AG