SK Telecom to acquire 21.05-% stake in Hynix for $3 bn

SK Telecom Co, South Korea's largest mobile operator, yesterday said it will pay $3.05 billion (3.43 trillion won) for a 21.05- per cent stake in South Korean computer memory-chip maker Hynix Semiconductor Inc.

Seoul-based SK Telecom, South Korea's third-largest conglomerate has bought the stake from nine creditor banks-turned-Hynix shareholders.

SK Telecom, which controls about half the country's mobile market, will pay 2.3 trillion won to Hynix and the remaining 1.1 trillion won to nine creditor banks of the world's second largest computer memory chipmaker.

SK Telecom will buy 101.85 million new Hynix shares, or a 14.7 per cent stake, at 23,000 won each. The mobile operator will also purchase 44.25 million existing shares, or a 6.4 per cent stake, held by creditors at 24,500 won each

The deal is the biggest acquisition by SK Telecom, which is seeking to diversify its business into semiconductor because of stagnant growth in the home mobile market, but will be up against Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chipmaker.

SK Telecom was named the preferred bidder last week, after South Korean shipbuilding firm STX Corp opted out of the bidding process due to market uncertainties, leaving the telecom firm as the sole bidder.