Micron/Hynix Deal Dead

Published by: wktd 2009-01-08

Micron Technology has walked away from negotiations to acquire rival chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor, ignoring a request from Hynix's Creditors Council to reignite the talks.

Micron, spurned in its bid to shell out about $3.4 billion to acquire the memory chip business and a 15 percent ownership stake in Hynix, bluntly announced the deal was dead.

"Despite considerable efforts, the parties could not reach a preliminary agreement. After careful evaluation, we are unable to discern a process that would allow the numerous parties involved to reach agreement in a timely manner," Micron said, effectively giving the cold shoulder to word from Hynix's unhappy lenders who are pushing for a new deal. "As a result, we are withdrawing from the Hynix negotiations."

IN BRIEF - Express Computer India::
track for January deal merger of some of Hynixs chip plants within Microns operations. connections have simply gone dead, or are spotty at best,
http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20020114/global6.shtmlHOME

November 15::
in our industry i.e. Intel, Micron, Hynix, etc. have the ability and money to As I said, disk based computers are dead slow.
http://www.skwholesale.com/letters/111503.SHTMHOME

"There is no change in (our) position to sell Hynix," said Lee Kang-Won, an executive of Hynix's main creditor bank. Kang-Won's Korea Exchange Bank are among a group of lenders owed about $3.4 billion.

"We hope that there would be room to restart negotiations with Micron," Kang-Won was quoted as saying.

Looking to resolve its corporate debt headaches, the South Korean government was also nudging a Hynix/Micron marriage but Hynix's board of directors chose to derail the deal and keep the company as a separate entity.

With memory chip prices showing no signs of improving, it is not clear how Hynix, currently ranked third in the chip-making sector, would survive without backing from Micron and its Creditors Council.

Kang-Won made it clear the Creditors Council would not be providing additional funds to Hynix, insisting the company could no survive on its own because there are no guarantees that memory chip prices would remain high.

Unfazed by the threat of imminent demise, Hynix's board of directors announced it would spin off its non-memory operations and sell equity to raise money for its main memory chip business. Hynix said it is content to pursue a stand-alone option and reject the Micron buyout.

Under the stand-alone plan, Hynix said it would sell a 20 percent stake in the non-memory business for about $200 million and secure an additional $300 million next year by gradually selling off a bigger chunk.

"There are too many problems with the creditors' post-merger restructuring plan for the remaining company. The plan overestimates the value of the Micron stock to be paid for the sale of Hynix's memory business; unrealistically presumes the size and timing of contingent liabilities; and is too optimistic in its estimate of the cash flow of the remaining company," according to a statement from the Hynix board.

"In addition, we have confirmed that, after its careful examination of the restructuring plan, Micron has also expressed concern to Hynix and its creditors regarding the viability of the remaining company. This concern is based on the restructuring plan placing too much liability onto the remaining company; restricting the sales of the stock of the remaining company as a collateral security; and overestimating the revenue and cash flow of the remaining company," it added.

A Multi-Billion Dollar IPO?
FTC Settles Online Auction Fraud Case