The Portuguese government has backed an investment group which has agreed to take control of Qimonda's solar cell joint venture Itarion Solar situated near Porto.

The investment group will acquire the troubled DRAM firm's 51% stake in the joint venture, which plans to open the first solar cell plant in Portugal in 2010.

The group is a consortium comprising the Portuguese energy group Energias de Portugal (EDP), the state investment company Inovcapital, the banks Banco Espírito Santo, Banco Comercial Português and Banco Privado Atlântico, as well as the project developer DST Renováveis and the Visabeira Group, which is active in infrastructure industries.

The other partner in the venture, Centrosolar Group AG, has been looking for a new partner since the start of the year, when it became apparent that Qimonda was facing financial problems. 

Qimonda has been struggling to find investors for its various businesses since the start of the year when it hit financial troubles.