Hyosung confirms intention to buy Hynix stake

By Kim Young-gyo

SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- Mid-sized South Korean conglomerate Hyosung Corp. confirmed Wednesday it is considering buying a major stake in the world's No. 2 memory chipmaker, but added no decision has been made.

The company made the announcement in a regulatory filing, responding to a request
by bourse operator Korea Exchange to make public its position on media reports.
Many local media outlets reported earlier in the day as their top stories that
Hyosung Group was the sole party to submit a letter of intent to buy a state in
Hynix Semiconductor.
Officials at Hynix's creditor banks said Tuesday that Hyosung Group with business
interests ranging from chemicals to heavy machinery was the only bidder for the
28-percent stake, estimated at 3.65 trillion won (US$3.04 billion). The deadline
for bids closed Tuesday.
The creditors said they plan to finalize the deal by the end of November after
conducting due diligence on Hyosung and receiving a final bid from the
conglomerate.
Hynix was put under joint supervision by creditors in October 2001, when it faced
a credit crunch amid a faltering semiconductor business climate.
From 2001-2002, Korea Exchange Bank and other creditors injected $4.6 billion to
bail out Hynix by swapping the chipmaker's debts for equity.
Hynix ended its debt workout program in May 2005, after the company raised $1.25
billion to pay off its debt. Its creditors have retained a controlling stake
since then, selling only a portion of what they held.
ygkim@yna.co.kr