Taiwan chip-maker raises $232 m in GDR issue

TAIPEI: Taiwan's largest memory chip maker, Nanya Technology Corp said it had raised US$232 million through an issue of Global Depository Receipts traded on the London Stock Exchange.
In addition, Nan Ya Plastics Corp, a sister firm of Nanya Technology, sold $240 million in five-year bonds, which can be swapped for shares in Nanya Technology, a Nan Ya official said.

Shares of Nanya Technology closed up T$1.00 or 3.7 percent at T$28.00 on Monday, while the benchmark TAIEX index rose 2.1 percent. Nan Ya Plastics shares rose 2.06 percent to T$39.70.

Proceeds from Nan Ya Plastics' sale of bonds, which carry a conversion price of T$32.55 per share and a zero coupon rate, would be used to purchase raw materials, the official added.

Nanya said in a statement the issue of 336 million shares in the form of GDRs was priced at US$6.91 per GDR on Friday, a discount of 8.3 percent to the 20-day average closing price for the company's ordinary shares in Taiwan.

One GDR is equal to 10 ordinary shares.

The company said investors had asked for a discount as Nanya shares have risen more than 30 percent since the beginning of the year to price/earnings and price-to-book ratios, exceeding larger firms in the sector such as Micron Technology Inc and Infineon Technologies AG.

Nanya Technology and Infineon have a $2 billion to $3 billion joint venture plant under construction in Taiwan, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of next year, and some of the money raised is expected to go towards the project.

UBS and Goldman Sachs were joint underwriters of the issue. (US$1 = T$34.4)

© Reuters