Hynix creditors to extend final bidding

Creditors of Hynix Semiconductor Inc. said Tuesday that they will postpone the deadline for the final bidding for a 15 percent stake in the chipmaker by one week. Creditors-turned-shareholders of Hynix said the final bidding will be extended to Nov. 10, in an attempt to lure more bidders to join the takeover process of the world's No. 2 memory chipmaker. The move came as shipbuilding giant STX Group's departure from the bidding process left top mobile carrier SK Telecom as the sole bidder for the stake, estimated at around 1.5 trillion won (US$1.3 billion). Korea Exchange Bank, which leads the creditors, said in a statement that they plan to wrap up the sale by January next year. To dismiss speculation that SK Telecom will easily take over the chipmaker, they opened door for new prospective buyers to join the final bidding in late September. New shares will be issued in a move to help the chipmaker bolster its financial strength and ease the burden of additional capital investment for the new owner. A potential buyer eventually will hold a 20 percent stake in the chipmaker, which includes 14 percent in new shares to be issued. The remainder will be sold by the creditors. The creditors' previous attempts to sell off the stake hit snags as volatile business conditions for the chipmaking sector and huge investments made potential investors wary of buying the company. The creditors pumped $4.6 billion into Hynix through debt-equity swaps in 2001 and 2002 to keep it afloat.