(LEAD) Creditors to pick Hynix preferred buyer by late Oct.

(ATTN: UPDATES with more info in paras 8-11)
SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Yonhap) -- Creditors of Hynix Semiconductor Inc. said Friday they have successfully completed due diligence on the world's second-largest chipmaker and plan to select a preferred bidder by the end of October.
Creditors have been seeking to sell their 15 percent stake in Hynix after injecting US$4.6 billion to rescue the chipmaker by swapping their debt holdings into shares in 2001-2002.
"The bidding guidelines will be sent out on Sept. 21 and a preferred buyer will be chosen by late October. A stock purchase agreement is slated to take place during November," Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), the main creditor bank, said in an e-mailed statement.
KEB is the biggest shareholder in Hynix with a 3.42 percent stake, followed by Woori Bank with 3.34 percent and Korea Finance Corp. with 2.58 percent.
The bidding will close on Oct. 24 and creditors will push to seal the deal according to the planned schedule, the bank said.
Previous attempts to sell off the stake had hit a snag as volatile business conditions for the chipmaking sector and huge investments have made potential investors wary of buying the company.
In July, top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. and shipbuilding conglomerate STX Group submitted preliminary bids for the Hynix stake.
The creditors have been considering issuing new shares, a move to help the chipmaker bolster its financial strength and ease the burden of additional capital investment for the new owner.
According to the creditors, a potential buyer eventually will hold 20 percent of the chipmaker that includes 14 percent in new shares to be issued. The remainder will be sold by the creditors.
If approved, the chipmaker plans to issue 101.85 million new shares, while the creditors will unload 44.25 million or half of their existing shareholdings, KEB said.
"By raising the weight of an issuance of new shares, fresh capital will help improve Hynix's financial health and ease a prospective buyer's burdens on facility investment," said an official at KEB said.