Aug 29 (Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy court judge

approved on Thursday a $45 million bid for the assets of failed

residential solar company SunPower by rival Complete

Solaria.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Approval of the "stalking horse" bid means California-based

Complete Solaria will snap up SunPower's major assets if no

higher offers emerge in the coming weeks.

Assets included are the company's business for solar on new

homes, a sales business for non-installing dealers, and the Blue

Raven division it acquired in 2021 for $165 million.

SunPower was a pioneer of the U.S. residential solar market

but it collapsed earlier this month following a subpoena from

the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about its accounting

practices and the departure of its CEO.

The U.S. residential solar industry has also been struggling

broadly with higher interest rates and a reduction in incentives

in the top market, California.

WHAT'S NEXT

Judge Craig Goldblatt of Delaware bankruptcy court set a

Sept. 10 deadline for additional bids, and will hold an auction

on Sept. 16 if necessary, court documents showed.

The court also set a sale objection deadline of Sept. 20.

Maxeon, the Singapore-based solar panel maker spun off from

SunPower in 2020, objected to the stalking horse bidding rules,

saying it owns the rights to SunPower trademarks outside of the

United States. The objection was overruled.

A Maxeon spokesperson did not immediately respond to a

request for comment.