ProMOS Technologies Inc (茂德科技), Taiwan’s most unprofitable memory chipmaker, said a tender offer to buy back its bonds at a discount hadn’t reached a “successful” level as of yesterday.
“We call upon bondholders to seriously consider the ongoing tender,” Hsinchu-based ProMOS said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday, without giving the tender rate.
ProMOS on Feb. 19 offered to buy back US$335.6 million in outstanding zero-coupon convertible bonds for as little as 10 percent of their face value after saying it had failed to raise enough to make payment in full.
The tender will fail if less than 79 percent of bondholders accept the offer, ProMOS said on Feb. 20 in a filing to Singapore’s stock exchange, where the bonds are listed.
Creditors are still able to demand full payment if they apply before May 14, the company said.
The tender, which ends on March 21, agrees to give creditors 20 percent of the face value if they accept the offer before March 2, the statement said.
If more than 82 percent of bondholders accept the tender before March 2, they will receive an extra US$30 per US$1,000 principal, and if the number is higher than 86 percent, the extra payment is US$65, the Feb. 20 statement said.
ProMOS had an operating loss, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, of NT$24.5 billion (US$253.8 million) last year, the company said on Feb. 19. Its cash dropped to NT$200 million as of Jan. 31 from NT$2.6 billion last June, it said.
In a separate filing, ProMOS said banks agreed to extend its credit lines on short-term borrowing for one year.
The lenders also agreed to extend the company repayments on medium and long-term debts for one year.
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