Two potential bidders start due diligence on Hynix

SEOUL, July 25 (Yonhap) -- Two prospective buyers of Hynix Semiconductor Inc. kicked off a six-week due diligence on the world's No. 2 memory chip maker on Monday in the run-up to their formal bidding.
South Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom and shipbuilding conglomerate STX Group submitted letters of intent to buy a 15 percent stake in Hynix on July 8, which could fetch at least 2.4 trillion won (US$2.3 billion).
Creditors, led by Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), said in a statement that the two companies will scrutinize Hynix's books until early September as they need sufficient time to analyze the chipmaker, given its size and holdings of complex technologies.
"Bids will be invited in mid-September, and creditors plan to complete the sale by the end of this year," a spokesman at KEB said. "The sale will be carried out in a fair and transparent manner."
SK Telecom, the flagship of No. 3 conglomerate SK Group, is seeking to buy Hynix Semiconductor in a bid to find new opportunities for overseas expansion and to seek business synergy by converging chipmaking and telecommunications businesses.
STX Group, a South Korean shipbuilding and shipping giant, intends to diversify its portfolio from shipbuilding to memory chip technology.
The creditors' two previous attempts to sell Hynix Semiconductor were aborted as volatile business conditions for the chipmaking sector and huge investments made potential investors wary of buying the company.
The creditors injected $4.6 billion to rescue the chipmaker by swapping their debt holdings into shares in 2001 and 2002.
elly@yna.co.kr