Anam Semiconductor Sells Unit to France's Legrand for $38 Mln
Anam Semiconductor Sells Unit to France's Legrand for $38 Mln
Seoul, July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Anam Semiconductor Inc., South Korea's largest circuit board maker, said it will sell its home appliance and industrial wiring unit to Legrand SA of France, a maker of household electrical fittings, for 45 billion won ($38 million).
Anam Semiconductor plans to use the proceeds to cut debt. The firm holds half of Korea's 50 billion won switch market. Its unit makes circuit breakers, home automation systems and remote- control switches for household and industrial use. ''We'll use 100 percent of the proceeds to repay debt,'' said Choi Nag Youn, a manager at Anam Semiconductor. ''The sale is part of our parent group's efforts to narrow our focus to the semiconductor industry.''
Legrand SA has agreed to take on the 208 employees at the Anam Semiconductor unit and will use Anam Semiconductor's brand name for the next 10 years, an Anam Semiconductor official said.
Legrand SA is a unit of France's Legrand Group, which produces low-voltage electrical devices and accessories such as switches, sockets, remote-control devices and fuses. The company has subsidiaries and offices in 43 countries.
Anam Semiconductor's parent, the Anam Group, declared insolvency in March and is participating in a government- sponsored workout program, under which the government arranges a rescheduling of its debt in exchange for its following an approved restructuring plan.
In May, Anam Semiconductor sold one of its four packaging plants for $575 million to Amkor Technology Inc. of the U.S.
Anam Semiconductor expects a net profit of 120.7 billion won in the first half, up 82 percent from the same period last year thanks to the plant sale in May and rising chip prices.
It expects to reduce its debt-to-equity ratio to 8.7 times in the first half of the year from 17.5 times a year ago, Choi said.
Anam Semiconductor shares surged by the 15 percent daily limit today to 18,300 won, a 52-week high.
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