Dec 11 (Reuters) - Canadian Solar Inc CSIQ.O said on Monday it received a letter from its Chief Executive Shawn Qu to take the company private.
The solar company said Qu, its largest shareholder, has offered to buy all of the outstanding shares he and his wife Hanbing Zhang do not already own for $18.47 per share. offer represents a 7.1 percent premium to Canadian Solar's Friday close. Qu and Zhang own about 23.5 percent of the company's shares.
Canadian Solar's shares, which have risen nearly 42 percent this year, were halted in premarket trading on Monday.
The company had a market cap of $1.07 billion, according to Reuters calculations.