Hynix creditors to reinvite fresh bids for stake sale

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SEOUL, Nov. 25 (Yonhap) -- Creditors of Hynix Semiconductor Inc. will reinvite
fresh bids for a major stake in the world's No. 2 memory chipmaker next month and
accept letters of intent from potential investors by the end of January, credit
bank officials said Wednesday.
The move comes after Hyosung Group, a midsize South Korean conglomerate, decided
earlier this month to drop its bid for a 28.07-percent stake in Hynix
Semiconductor.
Main creditor Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) said that managers for the sale of the
chipmaker will send out invitational notices on the Hynix sale on Dec. 20.
"Nine creditors agreed 100 percent on the resale of Hynix Semiconductor," KEB
said in an emailed statement.
The invitations, as with the previous ones, will be made only to South Korean
companies, the bank said.
The chipmaker was put under joint supervision by the creditors in October 2001,
when it faced a credit crunch amid a faltering semiconductor business climate.
Starting in 2001 and up to 2002, KEB and other creditors injected US$4.6 billion
to bail out Hynix by swapping the chipmaker's debts to stocks.
Hynix ended its debt workout program in May 2005, after the company raised $1.25
billion to pay off its debt. The creditors have retained a controlling stake
since then, selling only a portion of what they held.
The stake sale is estimated by the sellers to be worth 4.5 trillion won (US$3.65
billion).
"It is not the right time to discuss the block sales. All of the creditors will
now do our best to successfully sell this time," KEB said.
"If no potential buyer comes forward, we will seek measures to build a new
structure of the company, on which all of the stakesholders and interested
parties can agree.
Shares of Hynix closed at 19,000 won on Wednesday, up 2.15 percent from the
previous session.
Net profit stood at 246.3 billion won in the July-September period, compared with
a 1.67 trillion won loss a year earlier. Sales rose 15 percent to 2.12 trillion
won, with operating profit reaching 209.3 billion won.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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