Vivint Solar to take part in SunEdison's bankruptcy case

[May 10, 2016]  (Reuters) - Solar panel installer Vivint Solar Inc said it would participate in SunEdison Inc's bankruptcy case to maximize its recovery from claims against SunEdison, which terminated its agreement to buy Vivint in March.

Vivint Solar has filed a lawsuit in Delaware against SunEdison alleging that the solar company willfully breached its obligations under their merger agreement and is seeking damages.

SunEdison's bankruptcy filing on April 21 has created a temporary stay on the prosecution of Vivint's lawsuit, the company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. (http://bit.ly/24I7wzT)

SunEdison, once the fastest-growing U.S. renewable energy company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after a short-lived but aggressive spate of debt-fueled acquisitions proved unsustainable.

Investors began to lose confidence in SunEdison's expansion, when the company announced a $2.2 billion deal to acquire Vivint in July.

The Vivint deal also led to a lawsuit by billionaire David Tepper's Appaloosa Management, which sued to block SunEdison's unit, TerraForm Power Inc <TERP.O>, from buying some Vivint assets.

(Reporting by Amrutha Gayathri in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

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