Hynix plans massive share sell-off

Hynix Semiconductor Inc., the world’s second-largest maker of memory chips, and its creditors will sell as much as $2.7 billion of shares and bonds starting this month after a sevenfold jump in the stock’s price over the past three years. Hynix’s lenders will sell between 40 million and 62 million shares, valued at as much as 1.9 trillion won ($2 billion), by the end of June or in July, lead creditor Korea Exchange Bank said in a statement yesterday. The company, based in Incheon, Gyeonggi province, also plans to sell $700 million in new shares and debt. The sales would provide Hynix with funds for new factories to keep up with its rivals and help lenders recoup the $4.6 billion spent bailing out the chipmaker in 2002. For the past two years, Hynix has been making profits, mainly on chips for consumer electronics such as digital music players. “The stake sale will see solid demand, as the outlook for the semiconductor industry is positive,” said Cha Jin-ho, an equity manager at the Seoul-based Maps Investment Management Co. Global semiconductor sales are forecast to rise 10.1 percent this year, more than previously expected, boosted by demand for memory chips for personal computers and consumer electronics, the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics said on May 30. Hynix and Samsung, which together make 67 percent of the memory chips used in music players and mobile phones, said they raised prices in April, the first time this year, as a supply glut eased.