Troubled Hynix Semiconductor Inc is focusing rescue attempts on an alliance with US giant Micron Technology despite talks becoming deadlocked, Hynix creditors said yesterday.
Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), a key creditor of the debt-stricken memory chip giant, said in a statement that the South Korean company is "concentrating all efforts on striking a deal with Micron Technology."
KEB made its statement as Hynix also turned its attention to other potential partners, including Infineon AG of Germany.
KEB confirmed Hynix is "in contact with Infineon, who is interested in a different type of strategic alliance" from Micron.
It said Infineon chief executive Ulrich Schumacher will visit Seoul "soon" but declined to reveal his itinerary details.
Micron, the world's second-largest memory chipmaker, has been engaged in talks for the past month on taking over Hynix's key operations. But the talks on creating the world's largest maker of DRAM chips are deadlocked over the value of Hynix assets, according to reports.
Seeking to ease its financial crisis, Hynix has sought to sell its whole DRAM unit and a partial stake in non-DRAM operations to Micron.
Investment bank Credit Lyonnais said in a report that Hynix wants at least US$4 billion while Micron has offered between US$2.5 billion and US$3 billion.
It forecast a collapse in talks due to the price gap.
But news reports said Micron and Hynix were getting closer again.
"The two sides are narrowing down differences over the price ... however they have yet to reach a satisfactory point," an unnamed Hynix official told the Yonhap news agency.
On Thursday, MBN TV quoted a Hynix official as saying Micron had raised its bid to US$3.6 billion. Hynix has been kept afloat by two multi-billion-dollar bail-outs, worth more than US$10 billion, from creditors. It still has debts of about six trillion won (US$4.6 billion).
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