People chat at the gate of Wuxi Suntech Power Co, in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu Province, March 21. Photo : CFP

Shunfeng Photovoltaic International Ltd, a Chinese solar cells maker, announced that it has reached an agreement for the acquisition and reorganization of solar panel maker Wuxi Suntech Power Co Ltd, though analysts said on Monday this cannot guarantee the acquisition yet.

The Jiangsu-based Shunfeng will pay 3 billion yuan ($492 million) for the acquisition and take on all the losses of Wuxi Suntech during the reorganization period, according to an announcement released Sunday on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Clearing Limited website. Shunfeng's deal was agreed to by Wuxi Suntech's management and its administrators.

Shunfeng also needs to pay $25 million to Wuxi Guolian Development Group Co in the first three months after the acquisition is completed, according to the announcement. Wuxi Guolian is an investment group owned by the Wuxi government and it has administered the reorganization of Wuxi Suntech since 2012, media reports said. Wuxi Guolian announced it will invest $150 million in Wuxi Suntech October 30, according to Wuxi Suntech's website.

The acquisition is consistent with its business expansion strategy of constructing and developing solar power stations, Wuxi Suntech said in the announcement.

It is still too early to comment on the acquisition plan without knowing the decision of Wuxi Suntech's creditors, Meng Xian'gan, deputy director of the China Renewable Energy Society, told the Global Times Monday.

The announcement said that completion of the acquisition requires both the approval by Wuxi Suntech's creditors and the approval of the restructuring plan by the Wuxi Intermediate People's Court.

The acquisition plan will succeed if it is approved by at least 30 percent of Wuxi Suntech's creditors at the creditors' meeting on November 12, the National Business Daily reported Monday.

Neither Shunfeng nor Wuxi Suntech could be reached for comment by press time.

Before the creditors' meeting, it is hard to say that Wuxi Guolian will not have a chance to make rival offers, and even if Shunfeng succeeds in acquiring Wuxi Suntech, reorganizing and developing Wuxi Suntech will not be an easy job, Meng said.

Wuxi Suntech's debt is as large as over 10 billion yuan, which will be a heavy burden for anyone who takes it over, Meng noted.

Wuxi Suntech is a wholly owned subsidiary of Suntech Power Holdings Co, one of the world's most well-known solar panel producers, and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It went into bankruptcy on March 20, 2013 as it failed to pay its debts when they became due.