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A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved Meyer Burger’s $29 million Chapter 11 asset sale, clearing the way for the U.S. arm of the Swiss solar-panel giant to shed nearly all of its holdings—even as unsecured creditors warned the deal leaves them stranded while enriching secured lenders.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig T. Goldblatt gave the green light for Meyer Burger’s U.S. unit to sell the bulk of its assets to Waaree Solar Americas Inc. for $18.5 million in cash. In addition, he approved the sale of solar cells to Babacomari Solar North, which agreed to acquire them through a $10.2 million credit bid.

Creditors Cry Foul

The unsecured creditors’ committee launched a sharp objection, accusing Meyer Burger of running a process that favored secured lenders while offering “next to no material benefit” for other creditors. Their filing argued that allowing such a sale would essentially turn the bankruptcy court into a foreclosure tool—“enriching secured parties and professionals, while leaving unsecured creditors in the lurch.”

But Judge Goldblatt overruled those arguments, insisting that the company had run a proper auction. “I am satisfied that the debtor ran an appropriate process. Every effort was made to obtain the highest and best bids,” he said. Still, the court ordered Meyer Burger to place any leftover sale proceeds into escrow after paying back the $9.2 million in debtor-in-possession financing.

From European Struggles to U.S. Collapse

Meyer Burger filed its U.S. manufacturing unit into Chapter 11 in June, weighed down by a staggering $562 million debt load, after its German and Swiss affiliates entered insolvency weeks earlier.

The company, headquartered in Switzerland, had expanded into the U.S. as Europe’s solar market buckled under competition from low-cost Chinese panels. Meyer Burger launched factories in Arizona and Colorado, but according to Chief Restructuring Officer Justin D. Pugh, the company never raised enough capital to bring either site to full production.

The U.S. operations were further battered by falling demand for solar panels, tariffs on Chinese-imported materials, and policy uncertainty over renewable tax credits during the Trump administration.

A Fragile Future for Solar Ambitions

While secured creditors will see repayment through the sales, unsecured creditors remain at risk of recovering little to nothing. The clash highlights a recurring tension in solar bankruptcies, where global competition, volatile tax incentives, and financial shortfalls repeatedly leave investors and suppliers on the losing end.

Meyer Burger was represented in the case by Paul N. Heath, Brendan J. Schlauch, Jason M. Madron, Zachary J. Javorsky, and Nicholas A. Franchi of Richards Layton & Finger PA. The creditors’ committee was represented by Stephanie Slater Ward, Michael G. Menkowitz, and Jesse M. Harris of Fox Rothschild LLP.