US lawmakers who have been pushing both governments to resolve the subsidy issue, either by South Korea withdrawing its support for the company or by the US pressing the WTO case, are reserving judgment.
Susan Wheeler, spokeswoman for Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, said the lawmaker is watching the potential purchase closely and is hopeful it could resolve the trade row. Crapo was one of four senators who wrote in August to Zoellick, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and Commerce Secretary Don Evans, urging them to mount a WTO challenge. That letter charged that without debt rollovers and new credits from banks partially owned by the South Korean government, Hynix would have been be forced into bankruptcy.
Micron Technology Inc, which is in talks to acquire some assets of Hynix Semiconductor Inc, is likely to complete due diligence over the debt-strapped South Korean company this week and the two sides will begin negotiations next week, Yonhap News said.
Goldman Sachs & Co and Salomon Smith Barney Inc, advisers for Micron and Hynix, yesterday visited Hynix's plant in Ichon and conducted review of its finances, Yonhap said, citing an unidentified official with the creditor-led Hynix restructuring committee.
Negotiations will take place around Jan. 15. Micron is likely to offer a price and other conditions for the possible purchase, the report said. Bose, Idaho-based Micron is the second-largest producer of computer memory chips for personal computers, while Hynix is the third-largest.
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