Described by Chairman and CEO CS Park as the first market-driven restructuring in Korean corporate history, Hynix's $1.25 billion GDR stands almost unique among global public equity offerings. At its crux, lies an interdependence of GDR and bank re-financing, such that the latter has been wholly contingent on the completion of the former.
The debt rescheduling, which accompanied the deal and is said to give the company an 18 month window even if DRAM prices fail to recover, makes Hynix's re-capitalization one of the most complicated offerings Asia's markets have seen to date. Yet, for lead manager Salomon Smith Barney, its ultimate success should now consolidate the...
