Zeev,
Well, here are the first words out of Korea.
Looks like what we talked about is coming true, at least from this news report:
chosun.com
Gov't to Push Hynix's Sale Overseas
Judging that struggling Hynix Semiconductor will hardly be able to survive on its own, the government and the creditors of the chipmaker decided Wednesday to launch new steps to sell off the firm overseas after it replaces the firm's board members, who vetoed the sales proposal on Tuesday.
The government also decided not to permit creditor banks to extend any new loans to Hynix. The government holds the largest stake in many of these creditor banks.
Deputy Prime Minister Jeon Yun-churl told reporters on Wednesday that he believed there is no other solution to Hynix's problems than to sell it off and that the firm's board should have been able to reach a sales deal with Micron, with whom it had been involved in negotiations for about five months. Jeon said that he does not see any reason to refuse re-negotiations if Micron requests them.
Elaborating on Jeon's remarks, a high-ranking official of the Financial Supervisory Commission said that the creditors are expected to soon take steps to replace the members on the board. He said the replacement of the board members is a feasible move as the creditors will own more than a 60 percent stake in Hynix, as W2.9 trillion worth of convertible bonds (CBs), currently under the ownership of the creditors, will be switched into shares of the firm.
Meanwhile, President Jung Keun-yong of the Korea Development Bank also said that there is no other solution to the situation than to sell off the chipmaker overseas, pointing out the idea that Hynix can survive on its own is a misconception.
(Sunwoo Jung, jsunwoo@chosun.com) |
