SMA Solar Technology has signed a €100m loan agreement with three German banks to expand its service business.
The long-term credit deal was signed with Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank and Hessische Landesbank.
SMA Solar CEO Pierre-Pascal Urbon said: "Due to insolvencies and financially stricken project developers with a portfolio of service and maintenance contracts, SMA currently has some interesting business opportunities, particularly in the U.S. and Europe, which is why we are planning to use a portion of our cash reserve to expand our service business.
"With the consortium loan, SMA has secured the financing of current assets over the long term and is profiting from the currently low interest rate level.
SMA Solar currently has an equity ratio of 49.9% and net cash of more than $320m, making it one of the most financially sound solar companies globally.
Due to this, SMA Solar claims that it can give its investors and PV system operators the long-term certainty that several smaller, non-listed companies in the industry might not be able to do.
SMA service business unit executive vice president Chuck Smith said: "Since the inverter is a central component in any PV system, many owners and PV system operators regard SMA as the natural partner of choice for operations and maintenance services."
With a global service infrastructure and over 400 service professionals, SMA Solar has completed contracts for operations and maintenance of solar PV with a total output of 1.4GW.