이 기사는 2020년 03월 19일 08시00분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

South Korea’s MagnaChip Semiconductor Corp., a designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products, is said to be nearing a deal to sell its foundry business, in a move that surprised industry observers who were skeptical about chances of a successful sale due to the seemingly slow progress of an auction for the unit.

The investment committee of Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives (KFCC) – the state-run institution with nearly 70 trillion won under management – approved on Monday a commitment to a PE fund dedicated to buying MagnaChip’s foundry business for about 400 billion won, sources close to the matter said. The fund, in which KFCC will likely be an anchor investor, is to be managed by Seoul-based PE firm Credian Partners.

Another PE firm, Alchemist Capital Partners Korea, will also participate in the investment as a co-general partner. The firm will invest with Credian Partners in a special purpose entity formed solely to acquire the chipmaker’s assets.

Specifically, Credian Partners plans to purchase a 50 percent stake plus one share in the entity’s shares, while a fund raised by Alchemist Capital Partners will invest in the remaining stake in the entity. The two firms are expected to deploy about 200 billion won each.

Limited partners in Alchemist’s new fund include SK Hynix. The world's second-largest memory chip maker is seemingly playing a limited role in the acquisition, though market watchers see the company as a de-facto strategic investor leading the deal.

One reason for such a view is that neither Credian nor Alchemist – the ostensible acquirers – is a major PE firm. Also, SK Hynix has directly or indirectly engaged in management of Hisem since Alchemist’s investment in the semiconductor testing equipment maker a few years ago, market watchers said.

With more than 90 percent of Hisem’s total revenue coming from SK Hynix, the memory chipmaker looks like just a main customer of the company. But industry insiders think that SK Hynix would have influenced Alchemist’s decision to invest in Hisem. Their partnership in the acquisition of MagnaChip’s foundry business could also be a similar approach, industry insiders said.

MagnaChip dates back to 2004 when Hynix Semiconductor (now SK Hynix) sold its non-memory business due to financial difficulties. The former non-memory unit of Hynix runs both fabless and foundry businesses.

MagnaChip hired JP Morgan a year ago to run an auction for its foundry business, with SK Hynix and Chinese firms named as potential buyers. Bidders submitted offers and conducted due diligence last summer, but talks have since made little progress. At the beginning, MagnaChip reportedly sought about 700 billion won for the business.

“There is nothing to talk about an acquisition of MagnaChip,” said a representative for SK Hynix.

(By reporters Han Hee-yeon and Jo Se-hun)