SK Hynix, Globalfoundries likely to acquire Elpida

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Japanese memory chip vendor, Elpida must be a bankrupt company but its acquisition is a hot topic of discussion among the market watchers, analysts and the media. After a lot of speculation, Micron had finally announced that, it will acquire the bankrupt Elpida. Micron had won the exclusive right to buy Elpida after bidding more than $2.5 billion.

But now, there is another twist to this acquisition story. As the bondholders of Elpida found that Micron’s bid to acquire the assets of Elpida was too low, the company is in negotiations with South Korea's SK Hynix and U.S.-based foundry Globalfoundries. 

Globalfoundries is interested in buying Elpida's main fab in Hiroshima, Japan, while Hynix is interested in buying the firm's share of Rexchip Electronics Corp., a joint venture between Elpida and Powerchip Technology. Micron's bid to buy Elpida was filed with the Tokyo district court earlier this month.

As per a report by Reuters, a spokesperson for Hynix denied that the firm was in talks with Elpida's debt holders. Hynix, initial bid to acquire Elpida in the first round of bidding, but reportedly dropped out of the bidding before the final round.

According to the Reuters report, if Hynix and Globalfoundries agree to pay a higher price than Micron, it would need to approval of the Tokyo district court before being put to a vote of Elpida bondholders, as the submission of an alternative plan is highly unusual in bankruptcy cases in Japan.