Chipmaker welcomes bid

By Kim Yoo-chul

A top Hynix executive said the world’s No. 2 memory chipmaker has welcomed formal approaches by Korea’s top telecom firm SK Telecom and the top-tier shipbuilding firm STX Group for a controlling stake in the firm.

``Our stance hasn’t changed. We hope to find a new owner who has a clear vision in the chip-making industry and a determined interest to run the business,’’ said the executive by telephone.

The response is the first time since SK Telecom and STX filed their letters of intent (LOIs) to acquire 15 percent of the Icheon, Gyeonggi Province-based chipmaker.

Nine Hynix shareholders, including the Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), Shinhan Bank and Woori Bank are offering 88.5 million shares of Hynix which is worth around $2.3 billion at the current market value excluding management premium.

The memory chip business is subject to macro-economic conditions because consumers usually cut back their spending either to upgrade their digital devices such as TVs and PCs or drop their plans to buy new ones when economies go cold.

Citing the volatile and cyclical nature of the market, analysts and even unnamed Hynix officials were previously inclined to find a new buyer which has a strong ownership structure as the right investment timing is crucial.

``It’s the creditors decision whether to implement new conditions about the deal to help the bidders gain the stakes more easily,’’ the executive said without elaborating further.

In a separate telephone interview, the chief executive officer of the state-run Korea Finance Corp. (KoFC) Ryu Jae-han said all options are possible to conclude the deal this year.

``As far as I know, Hynix shareholders have begun detailed working-level discussions for the stake sale. After reviews of Hynix’s facts sheets, shareholders will decided on the preferred bidder in late August or early September as scheduled,’’ said Ryu.

Hynix shareholders had been looking at the nation’s leading industrial conglomerates including LG Group and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and planned to even allow Hynix to sell up to 10 percent in new shares after previous attempts failed.