This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on July 4, 2017 - July 10, 2017
SEOUL/TOKYO: SK Hynix Inc has proposed that its financing for a Japan government-led group bidding for Toshiba Corp’s chip unit be done through convertible bonds, two sources familiar with the matter said, potentially allowing it to have an equity interest in the world’s No 2 NAND chipmaker.
Such an arrangement would likely hurt the consortium’s efforts to clinch a deal, despite being named the preferred bidder last month with an offer of around ¥2 trillion (RM76.2 billion).
SK Hynix plans to buy convertible debt in a special purpose company being created by Bain Capital for the Toshiba acquisition, said one of the sources, adding that terms were still being negotiated. SK Hynix declined to comment while representatives for Bain could not be immediately reached for comment. A Toshiba spokesman said the company cannot comment on the specifics of the deal. The sources declined to be identified as the talks were confidential.
Toshiba chief executive officer Satoshi Tsunakawa has repeatedly said that SK Hynix would not be holding any equity in the chip unit and would not be involved in management. — Reuters