Hynix loses interest in buying Elpida

MEMORY MAKER Hynix has walked away from buying bankrupt rival Elpida. Hynix along with Micron were thought to be in prime positions to snap up Elpida following its bankruptcy earlier this year. Now Hynix has pulled out, claiming a deal with Elpida would not "strategically benefit" the firm. Elpida entered bankruptcy after it was unable to service bond payments totalling $5.5bn, and the prospect of any buyer having to service the debt isn't all that palatable. Such is the perceived burden that Hynix's shares rose by six per cent following the announcement that it will not be buying Elpida. Elpida is currently holding an auction for the firm with Reuters reporting that TPG Capital and China's Hony Capital intend to place bids. It is not known if Micron has placed a bid, however much of the talk prior to the auction focused around the firm, which could make a play to break into the top three DRAM vendors. While Elpida is desperately trying to find a buyer, the DRAM market itself has been in deep trouble for some time now. Even with Elpida's bankruptcy, DRAM prices are still at historically low level, meaning that whoever does buy up Elpida and its debts will have to take a very long term view in order to recoup their investment.