Evergreen Solar announces recapitalization plan

MARLBORO, USA: Evergreen Solar Inc., a manufacturer of String Ribbon solar power products with its proprietary, low-cost silicon wafer technology, announced that its Board of Directors has approved a comprehensive recapitalization plan to align the company’s capital structure with its current business model and to better position Evergreen Solar for future growth.

The recapitalization plan, if fully executed, will:
* Substantially reduce the company’s outstanding indebtedness and annual interest expense;
* Exchange a substantial portion of the company’s existing convertible debt for new debt with longer maturities and lower conversion prices;
* Create a capital structure that should provide greater incentive to convertible debt holders to convert their notes into shares of the company’s common stock, which would further accomplish Evergreen Solar’s goal of substantially reducing outstanding debt; and
* Enhance the company’s flexibility to manage its business by eliminating certain restrictive covenants and the security interests contained in existing debt instruments.

The recapitalization plan is comprised of the following key elements:

* Exchange offers and a consent solicitation;
* Raising additional capital by seeking to sell up to $40,000,000 aggregate principal amount of Evergreen Solar’s new 4 percent Convertible Subordinated Additional Cash Notes due 2020.
* Implementing the 1-for-6 reverse stock split previously approved by Evergreen Solar’s stockholders at the company’s annual meeting on July 27, 2010, which will become effective prior to the closing of the exchange offers; and
* Increasing Evergreen Solar’s authorized shares of common stock from 120,000,000 to 240,000,000 shares (after giving effect to the reverse stock split), in order to ensure that the company has sufficient shares available for future issuances.

Evergreen Solar plans to hold a Special Meeting of stockholders in early 2011 to ask its stockholders to support the recapitalization plan.