DRAM chipmaker Inotera Memories Inc (ÈA†¿Æ¼¼) yesterday said Micron Technology Inc is proceeding with its purchase of the remaining 67-percent share of Inotera, defusing investor concern that the NT$130 billion (US$4.01 billion) acquisition deal was collapsing.

¡°We are optimistic about closing this deal,¡± Inotera chairman Lee Pei-ing (ÀîÅàçø) told a media briefing. ¡°We will assist Inotera and other agencies to complete the transaction.¡±

Lee also serves as president of local DRAM chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp (Äρ†¿Æ¼¼), which is in talks with Micron to sell its 24 percent share of Inotera, as well as next-generation technology transfer from the US memorychip giant.

Inotera shares took a 9.86-percent nosedive yesterday after Micron said it would postpone its purchase of remaining 67 percent stake in its Taiwanese DRAM arm from Nanya and subsidiaries of Formosa Group (̨Ëܼ¯ˆF).

Micron originally expected the deal to close in the middle of next month.

The ¡°parties have concluded that closing the transaction on this timeframe is not possible,¡± Micron said in a statement on Thursday.

The Boise, Idaho-based memorychip maker said it ¡°expects to provide an update toward the latter part of calendar 2016.¡±

¡°There are some procedures that needed to be taken care of. Inotera and Nanya are working on these procedures,¡± Inotera spokesman Peter Shen (ÉòµÀ°î) told reporters.

The company is working smoothly with banks to arrange NT$80 billion in syndicated loans to facilitate the share purchase, Shen said.

¡°This is not the factor that is causing the delay,¡± he said.

Micron subsidiaries currently hold about 33 percent of the issued and outstanding shares of Inotera. In December, Micron offered NT$30 per common share to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Inotera via its local unit, Micron Semiconductor Taiwan Co (̨ž³ÃÀ¹â).

The stock price of Inotera plunged to NT$26.5 and retained at the level through the whole trading session yesterday after the local bourse resumed trading after four-day Dragon Boat Festival holidays.

¡°Judging from the selling in Inotera shares, I think many investors are not satisfied by the clarification from Inotera. The market needs more information about the acquisition deal, so for the moment, investors rushed to dump Inotera shares,¡± Mega International Investment Services Corp (Õ×ØS×Cȯ) analyst Alex Huang (üS‡ø‚¥) said.

¡°The acquisition price served as an anchor to stabilize Inotera shares in recent sessions. Now, how the deal will proceed is being questioned, and investors simply locked in their earlier gains today, and a bigger downturn is possible,¡± Huang said.

By: DocMemory
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