Fremont Solyndra Factory Sold To Seagate For Fraction Of Original Price
FREMONT (CBS SF) - Disk drive maker Seagate has reached a deal to buy the former Solyndra solar panel factory in Fremont for less than a third of the building's original price tag.
The San Jose Mercury News reports that a bankruptcy judge has approved the sale of the 412,000-square-foot Fremont complex for $90.2 million. Court records showed that the building was estimated to be worth $150 million, but had cost $300 million to build, according to the newspaper – meaning a 70 percent discount off of the construction price for Solyndra.
Construction of the site was made possible in part by the U.S. Energy Department's $535 federal loan guarantee to the company. Solyndra LLC, which made specialized cylindrical solar systems for commercial rooftops abruptly shut down operations and laid off its staff in August of 2011, shortly before filing for bankruptcy.
In the following months, Republican lawmakers made the government's loan to Solyndra the centerpiece of their criticisms of President Barack Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus package.
There is no immediate word on how Cupertino-based Seagate will use the facility. The company has previously housed Bay Area employees in Scotts Valley and Cupertino.
The 30-acre site, just off of the Kato Road I-880 exit allows for expansion of up to an additional 200,000 square feet.
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