Plextronics Files for Bankruptcy, Has $32.6 Million Buyout Offer

 By Peg Brickley 
 

Printed electronics developer Plextronics Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday, with plans to put itself up for auction with an opening offer from Solvay SA (SOLB.BT), an existing backer.

Solvay, a Brussels-based chemical company, is offering $32.6 million for Plextronics, which was spun out about a dozen years ago from Carnegie Mellon University. Some $24 million of the purchase price will be in the form of a credit-bid, or offer to extinguish existing debt Plextronics owes Solvay, and the rest, about $8.5 million, will be in cash, court papers say.

Plextronics has been developing materials for printed electronic devices, flat-panel screen displays and energy storage systems. It has never made money, but has drawn on funding from Solvay, Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNHZ, 0059320.SE) and Universal Display Corp. (OLED) along with private-equity funds, including one connected to Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT).

Papers filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., say Plextronics's assets at the end of 2013 were valued at $3 million on the books, against $33 million in debt.

Efforts to find a buyer or investor haven't panned out, but Solvay is funding a continued effort to attract competitive bids by a proposed Feb. 28 bid deadline, court papers say.

Solvay is an insider, owning 47% voting control of the Pittsburgh company, but relinquished its representation on the board of directors in order to negotiate the buyout, according to court papers.

(Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review covers news about distressed companies and those under bankruptcy protection. Go to http://dbr.dowjones.com)

Write to Peg Brickley at [e-mail]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires