After months of speculation, the shareholders of the South Korean chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor have selected mobile operator SK Telecom as the preferred bidder to acquire a stake in the company.
A spokesman for one of Hynix’s shareholders, Korea…
After months of speculation, the shareholders of the South Korean chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor have selected mobile operator SK Telecom as the preferred bidder to acquire a stake in the company.
A spokesman for one of Hynix’s shareholders, Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), told TelecomFinance that the shareholders will sign a contract to sell a stake in Hynix to SK Telecom on 14 November, after the Hynix board had set the price of new shares.
The spokesman said that a total of 146.1m shares are on sale.
He also said that Hynix’s creditor group holds a stake of 15% in Hynix and that half of this stake is up for sale.
KEB, which holds a 3.42% stake in Hynix, is the largest shareholder in this creditor group, which also includes Woori Bank (3.34% stake), Korea Finance Corp (2.59%) and Shinhan Bank (2.54%).
Citing a source with direct knowledge of the event, Reuters reported earlier that SK Telecom offered between W3.3-3.5 trillion (US$2.9bn-3.1bn) for a stake of approximately 21% in Hynix.
This was based on a proposed price of W22,000-24,000 per share for 101.85m shares reportedly offered by Hynix, and a proposed price of W23,000-25,000 per share on 44.25m shares owned by nine shareholders.
SK Telecom was reportedly the sole bidder for the Hynix stake.
