It has been revealed that Seagate Technology, one of the world's leaders when it comes to manufacturing hard drives and storage devices, will pay $90.3 million in order to purchase what was the former headquarters and plant of Solyndra LLC. The latter went bankrupt after being financed by what has been described as a controversial government loan. The property, which will still go to auction, could see Seagate's bid trumped should someone offer to pay more than $1 million above the offer accepted from Seagate.
A Reuter's reporter said: "Solyndra, which manufactured cylindrical solar panels, rose to fame after President Barack Obama visited it in 2010 as part of the administration's efforts to promote jobs in renewable energy. Solyndra had received a $535 million federal loan guarantee to build a factory in Fremont. Solyndra's bankruptcy has been politically embarrassing for the administration as Republican lawmakers jumped on it as an example of failed energy policy and government waste leading up to the 2012 presidential election."
If Seagate were trumped by a higher bid for the property when it goes to auction then Seagate would be entitled to a 'break-up' fee, which would amount to $1.8 million. This is just under 2.6% of their offer price.
It is expected that no further offer will be received, as the property had not previously found a suitable buyer when it was first made available.
The property itself has been built to extremely high specifications. Located in the southeast part of San Francisco Bay, it can withstand earthquakes and comes with 31,000 square feet of office space on a 30-acre site.
