Chipmakers look to merge

Shareholders must be over-joyed...

Hynix shares shot through the roof in South Korea following an announcement from its rival Micron Technology that the two semiconductor companies were agreed on merger talks. Micron has finally submitted a proposal in a move that will see Hynix, the smaller of the two chip makers through the recession. A monster chip producing company will result from the merger of the engaged couple's dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chip operations, touted to be able to overtake Samsung's DRAM lead. Hynix's share price went up by 15 per cent after the offer was submitted by Micron. A source close to the deal said the two companies may sign a non-binding contract to merge the operations this week. Hynix has not yet confirmed its intentions to sell 19.9 per cent of its non-memory chip unit to Micron and find other investors.