December 4, 2001
2 Rival Chip Makers Consider Joining Forces
By DON KIRK
nytimes.com
SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 3 — Two archrivals in the chip-making business, Hynix Semiconductor and Micron Technology (news/quote), have begun negotiations on a strategic alliance that the chief executive of Hynix, Park Chong Sup, predicted today would "change the landscape of the chip industry."
Mr. Park said it was too early to say if the talks would lead to a full- blown merger of the two companies. "We'll know whether it's go or no-go within a month," he said.
Responding to rumors of an imminent deal that have circulated here for weeks, Mr. Park and Micron's chairman, Steve Appleton, issued a joint statement today saying their companies were "evaluating a broad array of strategic options."
Industry analysts said the possibilities included an arrangement for Hynix, which is struggling with $8.6 billion in debt, to produce semiconductors for Micron, which leapfrogged over Hynix to move to second place in the world memory chip field, behind Samsung Electronics. |
