ProMOS Technologies Inc (茂德科技), the nation’s third-biggest computer memory chipmaker, yesterday said more than half of its investors agreed to sell back the company’s convertible bonds at a deep discount, or not to exercise their “put” option as of March 3.
The debt-ridden chip company has offered to buy back US$335 million in outstanding corporate bonds for as little as 10 percent of their face value as it could not raise enough cash to make a full payment.
ProMOS only has NT$3 billion (US$88 million) in bank loans to repay the debt.
To clinch the deal, ProMOS had extended its early bird deadline to yesterday from March 2, which allows bond holders to an extra 20 percent premium on the face value.
ProMOS will have to pay the debt on Saturday following an extension on Feb. 14 for the overseas convertible bonds issued on Feb. 14, 2007. Bond holders are allowed to redeem their investment on the second anniversary.
The tender fails if ProMOS is unable to obtain agreement to the discount payment from 79 percent of the bond holders, a company statement said.
Shares of ProMOS fell 5.88 percent to NT$0.8 yesterday ahead of the tender deadline.
Meanwhile, ProMOS may face difficulty in obtaining the newly approved NT$3 billion in bank loans after chairman Chen Min-liang (陳民良) said he would like to change his guarantor status, bank officials said last week.
Separately, Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), the nation’s second-largest computer memory chipmaker, yesterday said the company’s board had not discussed the proposal of eliminating 30 percent of its outstanding shares as local media reported. Nanya has 4.69 billion shares.
The Chinese-language Economic Daily News yesterday said that Nanya’s parent company, Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), was considering a 30 percent reduction in outstanding shares to boost Nanya’s net value.
After the capital reduction, Formosa Plastics would invest additional funds in Nanya, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.
Nanya’s net value plunged to NT$6.1 per share at the end of last year.
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