News: Page (1) of 1 - 02/28/13

Micron says moves closer to Elpida deal

US-MICRONTECHNOLOGY:Micron says moves closer to Elpida deal

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Memory chipmaker Micron said the Tokyo district court issued an order approving its acquisition of Japanese memory chipmaker Elpida after creditors agreed to the plan.

Boise, Idaho-based Micron, which is losing money due to a crumbling PC industry, wants to create larger economies of scale and offered in July to buy Elpida for about $750 million in cash and to pay creditors a total of $1.75 billion in annual installments through 2019.

Elpida's creditors voted to approve the deal on Tuesday, Micron said.

In October, the Tokyo court referred the reorganization plan to creditors for approval after it dismissed a rival proposal promoted by a group of bondholders led by hedge funds Linden Advisors, Owl Creek Asset Management and Taconic Capital Advisors.

Finalization of the approval order could come with four weeks, presuming no appeal is filed, Micron said.

Micron and Elpida also need approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, where the opposed bondholders have shifted their fight.

Elpida, the last of Japan's dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chipmakers, was driven into bankruptcy by falling chip sales and foreign competition.

The acquisition would make Micron, which continues to expect the transaction to close in the first half of 2013, the No. 2 global supplier of DRAM chips, behind Samsung Electronics.

(Reporting By Noel Randewich; editing by Andrew Hay)

Page: 1

Related Keywords:US , MICRONTECHNOLOGY