SunPower Reaches Settlement in Class Action Litigation

SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) today announced it has entered into an agreement to settle the private securities class action suit against the company and certain current and former members of management.  This action is titled, "In re SunPower Securities Litigation."

The agreement, which is subject to negotiation and execution of a final settlement document and court approval, provides for the payment by SunPower of $19.7 million and would lead to the dismissal of all claims against the defendants.  The company expects to reflect the impact of the settlement in its fourth quarter 2012 financial results. 

"While we strongly believe that the company and its management fully met all their legal obligations, we have decided it is more prudent to focus our efforts on growing new markets and continuing to expand our leading residential market share position," said Lisa Bodensteiner, SunPower executive vice president and general counsel. 

About SunPower
SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) designs, manufactures and delivers the highest efficiency, highest reliability solar panels and systems available today. Residential, business, government and utility customers rely on the company's quarter century of experience and guaranteed performance to provide maximum return on investment throughout the life of the solar system. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., SunPower has offices in North America, Europe, Australia, Africa and Asia. For more information, visit www.SunPowercorp.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements are statements that do not represent historical facts and may be based on underlying assumptions. The company uses words and phrases such as "an agreement," "subject to", "would lead",  "expects," "continue to," "will" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements in this press release, including forward-looking statements regarding: (a) SunPower's ability to settle all claims for $19.7 million; (b) the impact of the agreement on Q4 2012 results; and (c) SunPower continuing to expand its leading residential market share position.  Such forward-looking statements are based on information available to the company as of the date of this release and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, some beyond the company's control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements, including risks and uncertainties such as:  (i) the ability to reach final agreement with the plaintiffs; (ii) the ability to secure final approval from the court; (iii) the extent to which individual claimants opt out of the class and pursue individual claims; (iv) the ability to overcome any objections or appeals regarding the settlement; (v)  the ability of SunPower to absorb the cost of the settlement and the timing of the impact on financial statements; (vi) the resolution of the related derivatives actions; (vii) increasing supply and competition in the industry and lower average selling prices; (viii) the impact of regulatory changes and the continuation of governmental and related economic incentives promoting the use of solar power; (ix) general business and economic conditions, including seasonality of the solar industry and growth trends in the solar industry; (x) the availability of financing arrangements for the company's projects and the company's customers; (xi) the company's ability to remain competitive in its product offering, obtain premium pricing while continuing to reduce costs; (xii) the success of the residential lease program; and (xiii) other risks described in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 1, 2012, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended April 1, 2012, July 1, 2012 and September 30, 2012 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the company's views as of any subsequent date, and the company is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any responsibility to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE SunPower Corp.