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I wrote about suntech and LDK in danger of falling over a year ago on the norwegian forum hegnar online. I would also point out to the exellent article here on pvsolarinvestor:
https://solarpvinvestor.com/spvi-news/474…comes-desperate

It's already been known for a long while that LDK bond and share holders are screwed. With LDK much deeper under water than STP, nothing else is to be expected.

April 18 will should shake those with no clue, but I think the market has accounted for this. Reverse on news.

Quoted from "explo"

It's already been known for a long while that LDK bond and share holders are screwed. With LDK much deeper under water than STP, nothing else is to be expected.

This is true. One carefull look at the balance sheet and you would have known.

I don't mean market cap of LDK and STP. Those make no sense since those companies have drowned already. I mean when the street pull down all solar 11s, even those with healthy balance sheet and business conditions, in anticipation of the sentiment effect the illness headlines LDK will post shortly will have on its healthy peers for the clueless mass.

They've all be taken down (like SOL from 2.85 to 2.15, chased to 2.35 on blow out report and then beaten to a pulp down to 1.25) on no new development. We knew STP and LDK would blow up and EU would register modules. And liked it. So I think WS is playing a sentiment game with the clueless part of the market that will capitulate on the lows on the "no news" while the WS accumulates its target amounts and then release them.

The status is still the same. 2011 was the decline year, 2012 was the trough year, and a major one, 2013 will be the recovery year, with margins turning positive in second half for those with lowest cost structures. 2014 might be boom and shortage with bloated margins and major balance sheet repair. Now is the time to accumulate all who will not drown coming 2 months. SolarWorld, STP and LDK gave the street the perfect excuse to achieve a super low accumulation point before the party.

That LDK is bankrupt is really nothing new. Everyone (except LDK shareholder) knew that for at least 1 year. It is about time that LDK goes bankrupt. IMO

Shouldn't LDK bankruptcy benefit both SOL and WFR? Is that not common sense? Or am I missing something? And should not GTAT take a bit of a hit as it may lose a customer, along with other Chinese customers from the new restrictions on lending?

The bond was $23M and they made arrangements for 17M. Sounds to me those who were defaulted on did not like the arrangements. To go to such a bad press for $6M, while three months ago company had about $111M in cash, is pretty brutal.
The fact that STP is moving up on it is just confirmation how surreal the solar stock market is, if even such a thing exists.
How is Suntech Holdings which is a shell of the company without its subsidiaries in China, still trading and not making statements around its solvency?.

Based on Yingli's CFO, foreign debt is the one they have worried about the most so, if those are paid off or default on, this will be the difference between what happens in China. Now they are saying 80% of industry in China is closed and
domestic debt will be turned without issue, until they can get profits again. Not the most ethical way to work this, but who cares at the end. They have been left for dead by the global markets, so naturally they should get supported at home.

What is Unethical here is...
Total disregard to the foreign investor..and running them like Govt. Employment centers. These should not even be allowed to be listed on global markets.

well, we will still have to see what the final outcome is . Wuxi Guolian was appointed to look after the assets by the court.
Assets are in China owed by Chinese subsidiary of Suntech holdings. I am sure you know there is GSF and the Japan's business which has nothing to do with Wuxi moves.
My opinion is that Suntech Holdings will remain as owner of those entities (not located in Mainland). The only plant which is running today is already owned by 40% Wuxi SOEs. This will be kept by the state. Rest will be sold to give something back to banks.
This is the only way I can explain why Suntech Holdings is simply trading. The GSF maybe the only value they have and one to be sold to pay that convertible bond. I am sure details will be known.
The story with LDK is similar, I agree.
Every bankruptcy destroys shareholders, and perhaps saves few cents on the dollar to bondholders.

Actually many chinese solar forums mentioned about the LDK's status and critically stated LDF with high default risk. In a short run, SunTech model should apply to LDK. What different is SunTech itself was a company with good operating model. It was just a few wrong decision done owner causing the default inevitable. However, LDK is very different because LDK is extremely inefficient and possess poor operating model. It was superbly back up by a chinese province in such a way that govt had guaranteed a huge amount of debts. In turn the debt grew too big to be sustained and yet good operating business was to build up to sustain the continuity of business.

LDK does not only a refinance of its debt and also need a super restructure of the company so as to keep the going concern.

Like odyd says in case of BK the share holders are last in line, so when bond holders don't get paid how can people pay this much for STP and LDK shares when they are likely not worth anything?

We don't know who is buying these shares, it could be somebody collecting shares for a takeover bid. Plus it could be just gambling, if you believe that the Chinese government will bail them out eventually.

Any bail out will be for the benefit of the company's China operations, not for U.S. shareholders.