Solon buys 16 pct stake in U.S. solar cell maker

ZURICH, June 16 (Reuters) - German solar module maker Solon (SOOG.DE) bought a roughly 16 percent stake in newly formed U.S. solar cell maker SpectraWatt, broadening its supplier base and its presence in the U.S. market, the company said on Monday.

Solon shares jumped as much as 7 percent and were up 5 percent at 55.30 euros by 1507 GMT. The stock has fallen about 27 percent since the beginning of the year.

Solon said it paid a sum in the lower double-digit million euros for the stake.

The other stakeholders in SpectraWatt are Intel Capital, a unit of the world's No. 1 semiconductor maker Intel (INTC.O), Goldman Sachs' (GS.N) subsidiary Cogentrix Energy, and PCG Clean Energy and Technology Fund, Solon said.

The exact holdings were not disclosed.

Solon expects deliveries of silicon-based solar cells from SpectraWatt to start in the middle of next year, it said in a statement.

(Reporting by Eva Kuehnen, editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)