Tesla Motors Inc. announced on Tuesday that it has offered to acquire SolarCity Corp. The company has offered between $26.50 and $28.50 per share, in a $2.8-billion deal.
If the deal is approved, it would unite two Bay Area companies funded as well driven by billionaire Elon Musk. The success of the deal would also make Tesla more than an electric car manufacturer. It would help the company to gradually evolve into a more diverse company with interests in a variety of green technologies.
The primary business of SolarCity, founded in 2006, is the financing and installing solar panels. According to Tesla, the combined company will be able to offer its customers "end-to-end clean energy."
Talking to reports and analysts on Tuesday, Musk said that the world does not look for another car company, but for sustainable energy companies, Mashable reported.
Telsa announced the deal in a blog post, which said that following the deal, Tesla customers will be able to drive clean cars. They can also use the company's battery packs that will help to consume energy more efficiently. Nevertheless, the customers still need access to the most sustainable energy source: the sun.
The offer made by Telsa was roughly 21% more than what the shares of SolarCity were trading on Tuesday. In other words, the stock predictably escalated in after-hours trading. On the other hand, Tesla's shares dropped by about 12% after hours.
A letter sent by Tesla board of directors to SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive clearly declared the company's intentions and explained its justification. In the letter, Telsa stated that they believed that a combined company would help to generate considerable benefits for the stockholders, customers as well as the employees of both Telsa and SolarCity.
Meanwhile, the blog post stated that it has always been Tesla's mission to improve sustainability. It added that the company seeks to accelerate the transition of the world to sustainable transportation by offering more and more affordable electric vehicles.
Citing examples, the post said that the company launched Tesla Energy in March 2015. This unit of the company allows homeowners, business owners and utilities to benefit from renewable energy storage through the Powerwall and Powerpack. Now, the company desires to complete that picture, the post added.
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